Kiba's Star
by CountryStrata
Summary: Kiba finds a beaten girl outside the village. He brings her back to the village and becomes her caregiver. But he sense something about her. Will her secrets tear them apart?
1. Fallen

Chapter One

Fallen

Kiba and Akamaru were out jumping from tree to tree like they did everyday. It was a bright sunny day. Not a cloud or mission in sight. Kiba stopped on a branch and stretched out as far as he could. "Oh yeah! It's a great day!"

Akamaru barked in agreement. The wind turned direction and picked up again. Akamaru barked again. "Yeah. I smell it too. It's blood."

Kiba sniffed the air again. "This way."

Akamaru followed. They ran through the woods until the smell of blood came to its strongest. Kiba gasped when he say a girl lying on the floor of the forest. He walked over to her. She obviously had been in a battle. "Whoa! She looks like she tangled with a bear."

Akamaru sniffed her feet then whined. "What?"

Kiba walked to Akamaru and looked at the bottom of her feet. Kiba's eyes widened in shock. Her feet were completely torn up. Her skin was gone, completely. She was more than just in a battle. Kiba couldn't believe how beat up she was. He looked back to her face. She had soft facial features, fair skinned and long flowing white hair with a light blue tint to it and she looked about his age. Kiba felt bad for her. Akamaru barked again to snap him out of it. "Oh, right. We've got to get her to Lady Tsunade."

Kiba moved to pick her up, carefully. As he did she whimpered at the pain then slowly opened her eyes. She looked at him with stunning dark blue eyes. He immediately saw fear in her eyes. He smiled lightly at her. "It's ok. I'm a friend. I'm going to help you."

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't for the words. "You just relax. We've got the best doctor in the world."

She leaned her head against his chest and fell asleep. "We better hurry."

Akamaru barked and followed his master back to the village. He immediately took her to the hospital where, luckily, Tsunade was. "Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade!"

"Keep it down, Kiba! This is a hospit….oh my." Tsunade saw the beat up girl in his arms. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I just found her in the woods. Please, will you help her?" Kiba asked.

"Of course." Tsunade turned and he followed.

She slowly opened her eyes and started, with blurry eyes, up at the ceiling of an unfamiliar building. Carefully, she turned her head to looked around the room. It was quiet and no one was around. She sat up in bed and placed her feet carefully on the floor. But she wished she didn't when she slid off the bed. A yelp of pain escaped her lips before dropping to the floor. She placed a hand over her right foot. She had bandages wrapped around both her feet, legs, arms and few bandages on her face. Basically she looked like a mummy.

She froze when she heard the door slide open. Someone stepped in, two actually. "Huh? What are you doing out of bed?"

The voice was surprised and shocked. She looked up to see a boy, her age, with short brown hair, red marks on his cheeks and an large white dog by his side. He rushed over to her and kneeled down. "You have serious damage to your feet."

She jerked away when he reached out a hand. Kiba was confused at it. Akamaru nudged her arm and whimpered. She looked at the dog. "His name is Akamaru. He's worried about you. He want's you to get back in bed."

She slowly pulled her eyes away from the dog and back to the boy. Kiba smiled at her. "Can I put you back in bed?"

She nodded carefully. Kiba nodded back then slipped his arms around her, carefully not to pull out her IV in her left arm, and laid her back on the bed. "By the way, my name is Kiba. I found you outside our village."

She opened her mouth to say something just then the door opened and Tsunade walked in. "Ah, she's awake."

"Yes, ma'am. She decided to take a stroll." Kiba replied.

"Really? Well, that's not a good idea." The lady flipped through her charts. "You've suffered serious damaged to your feet. I did my best to heal them but it's still going to take a while before your back to full strength. You were also dehydrated and a bit malnourished."

Tsunade set the papers back down and looked at her. "Do you wanna tell us what you were doing out there?"

She started at the lady for a minute before her eyes drifted to Kiba. He smiled sweetly at her and nodded. She looked back at Tsunade. "Well, can you at least tell us your name? And where you're from? I'll send a message to your family and let them know you are ok. I bet they're worried about you."

"M-my…name is….Star." She replied carefully.

"Star." Kiba smirked. He liked it. It suited her somehow.

"Alright, Star, tell me where you live and I'll send a carrier pigeon." Tsunade said, patiently.

"You…won't be able to do that." Star replied. Akamaru laid his head on the bed by her hand and nudged her. She smiled lightly and began to stroke his head.

"Why not?" Kiba asked.

"I'm…..not from around here."

"Where're you from?"

"…" Star bit her lip. "I'm….from….the Island of Stars."

"The Island of Stars?" Tsunade asked.

"You've heard of it?" Kiba asked.

"Yes. It's an island where far…." Tsunade paused for a minute and studied the girl. Star refused to look at anyone as she continued to stroke Akamaru. "Well, you are a long way from home. What were you doing around here?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean? You don't remember?" Kiba asked.

"Not really. I know I was on a mission. I was heading to the village hidden in time…but that's it. I think I was suppose to deliver something there. We were attacked and then….nothing. I don't remember anything after that." Star sighed. "I don't even know if the people I was traveling with are even alive."

"I see." Tsunade replied. "Getting a message to your family is going to take a lot longer than I thought."

"How….how long have I been sleeping?" Star asked.

"For week." Tsunade replies.

"A week?" Star asked no one in particular.

Tsunade turned and headed for the door. "I'll have to send the message then find a place for you to stay when you're well enough to leave the hospital."

"Wait!" Star cried out.

"Hm?" Tsunade turned back to look at her.

"Uh…thank you." Star sat up and bowed politely. "Thank you for helping me."

Tsunade smiled. "All I did was patch up your wounds. Kiba there was the one who found you. You should thank him."

Star looked up at Kiba and smiled, which made Kiba blush slightly. "Thank you."

"Uh….s-sure. No problem."

Two weeks later Kiba was poking his fork in his food and stirred. He wasn't hungry. His mind was continuously on the girl in the hospital. Tsunade still hadn't figured out who Star should stay with. Star need someone who would be able help her, attend to her ever need and be patient with her as her feet healed. She wasn't going to be walking anytime soon. Placement for a temporary home was almost impossible with a village full of ninja who were always out on a mission.

Kiba checked in on Star whenever he had a free moment, nothing else to do or just wanted to make sure she was ok. Tsunade kept him informed on her condition and if anything new came up, like the small infection Star got in one of her wounds. Tsunade caught it quick enough so no harm was done.

But now, Star was going to be released from the hospital. With no home. It would take months, maybe more, to get word to Star's family. Tsume watched her son stare mindlessly at his food. "Something on your mind, son?"

"Huh?" Kiba asked half heartedly.

"Forget it, mom. His mind is on his girlfriend." Hana stressed the last word, knowing it would get his attention.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kiba growled with a light pink across his face.

"Then why do you think about her all the time? I mean, you've been over to see her like every day since you found her." Hana waved her hand.

"That's just it! I found her! So that makes her my responsibility, right?" Kiba slammed his hands on the table and stood up. Akamaru looked up from his food bowl.

"Then bring her home." Hana replied, un-phased by her brother's outburst.

"Home?" Kiba gave her a clueless look. "But her home is…."

"Not to her home. To our home." Hana replied then added under her breath. "You stupid mutt."

"Our home?" Kiba asked, still with a clueless look on his face.

"You said, since you found her, that makes her your responsibility. Whether it is or not you seem to have chosen to make her your responsibility. So, she needs a place to stay, she can stay here." Tsume explained before standing up and heading out.

"Really, ma? She can stay here?" Kiba asked his mother's retreating backside.

"Of course. Hana has medical training, sure as a vet, but she can still keep an eye on Star's wounds." Tsume flashed her son a smile before stepping outside.

"You better get going." Hana said.

"Right. Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba cheered as he headed for the door. Akamaru barked in just as much excitement as Kiba as they headed for Tsunade's office.

"Tsk….boys. They're all the same." Hana smirked.

"Hm…." Tsunade tapped her chin thoughtfully at Kiba's request. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to help her. I found her so that makes her my responsibility, in a way. And Hana has agreed to help watch her wounds and keep an eye out for infections." Kiba repeated.

"You do realize that this will be a big task. She's not allowed to walk until her feet get a lot better. That means carrying her everywhere." Tsunade wanted to make sure Kiba knew what he was getting into.

"Yes, ma'am. I know that. Akamaru has agreed to help to. She can ride on him. And if we get sent off on a mission, ma and Hana will watch her and ma's dog is big enough for her to ride on." Kiba nodded with determination.

"I see. Very well then." Tsunade smiled.

"Really?" Kiba asked.

"Yes. Sakura should be changing her bandages right about now." Tsunade stood up and signaled for Kiba to follow. He and Akamaru followed her all the way to the hospital, where Sakura was finishing up Star's bandages on her feet.

"There. All fresh and new." Sakura smiled at the girl.

"Thank you." Star returned her smile.

"And how's our patient doing today?" Tsunade asked.

"Fine. Healing along nicely." Sakura reported. "No signs of infections anywhere."

"Very good. Star?" Tsunade turned to the young girl.

"Yes, ma'am?" Star looked at the older lady with respected. Tsunade smiled. She like Star. Star showed her genuine respect. She was also naturally sweet and everyone that she meet instantly took a liking to her.

"Kiba here, has offered to let you stay at his house until your family is notified." Tsunade tossed a glance at the boy with the dog. Kiba nodded in agreement. "His sister is a vet and she's agreed to help watch your wounds until they are healed. If it's alright with you, I'd like you to go home with him today."

"Really?" Star asked Kiba. He nodded. Akamaru barked in agreement. Akamaru then jumped over to the girl and licked her face. He was asking her to please come stay with them. Star smiled at the dog and replied to him as if she understood what he said. "Of course. If it's really ok with your masters, I would love too."

"Huh?" Kiba instantly picked up on the fact that Star understood what Akamaru was saying to her. Tsunade proceed to give Star a do and don't list. Kiba shook his head. No way. It wasn't possible that she could understand him. Only he could.

"See you later, Star." Sakura waved as she left with her mentor. "I'll come check on you in a few days."

"Ok." Star waved back.

"Well, then." Star turned her attention to the boy standing in the room. "Shall we go?"

**Notes:** Hope you like this. It's a story I started a while ago and wanted to see if anyone liked it. PLEASE review so I know ya'll are reading it so I'll update the story. Sorry about the mistakes I'm working on my proofreading skills I'm not the best at it -.-'. See you next chapter. :)


	2. House Guest

Chapter Two

House Guest

Star nodded then proceeded to put her feet to the floor. A sharp warning bark from Akamaru startled her. She pulled her feet back upon the bed. "What? What did I do wrong?"

Kiba couldn't help but chuckle. "You did nothing wrong. Akamaru was just warning you not to stand up. Remember? You're not allowed to walk until your feet heal."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." A slight pink rose on her cheeks. Akamaru whined and nudged her hand. She smiled at him.

"Let's get going then." Kiba said. Star started to ask him how she was going to get to his place when he suddenly walked up to her, slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders. With a quick swoop, she was lifted off the bed. She gasped slightly at how easily he picked her up. Although she shouldn't have been too surprised. She never did weight very much, probably a total of a hundred pounds, maybe if she was wet. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"I-It's ok." The pink rose back on her cheeks again as she looked up at his smiling face. The two stayed quiet as Kiba turned and left the room, with Akamaru in toe. Some of the nurses in the hospital whispered to each other as Kiba carried her. Her blushing darkened a shade when she realized they were talking about her and Kiba. Kiba, however, didn't seem to notice. She calm down a bit once outside. "How far is your house?"

"I dunno. Seven maybe eight or nine blocks from here." Kiba replied casually.

"You're not going to carry me all that way, are you? I'm too heavy." Star gasped lightly.

"Don't be silly. You're not heavy at all." Kiba smiled at her. "Besides, we're not walking all that way."

"What do you mean?" Star asked. Kiba sat her on Akamaru then climbed on himself, sitting in front of her. "Huh? Wha…"

Star didn't get to finish her sentence as Akamaru took off. Star let out a startled cry of surprise and almost fell off. She quickly wrapped her arms around Kiba's waist as they speed through the village. Kiba chuckled a bit at her as she pressed her forehead to his back and tightened her grip on his waist. He patted her hand in a comforting way. Akamaru sensed her being uncomfortable and slowed down a bit. Star relaxed a bit but still kept her arms firmly around Kiba's waist.

It didn't take long at all for them to reach Kiba's house. Once there, Kiba took her in his arms once again and took her inside. No one was home at the moment. He sat her down on the couch, carefully to make sure he didn't hit her feet on anything. And just as he did all of their dogs came over to greet her. She smiled at the fuzzy faces and licks she got from them. There was about seven dogs in all. And just about all of them put their feet up on her to get a closer look. She cooed sweetly at them. "You're all so sweet."

"Alright, everybody. You can't jump on her like that." Kiba said as he shooed them away.

"That's alright. I don't mind. I've pets back home too." Star replied. Kiba looked back at her.

"Yeah? Well, they can jump on you all they want when you're healed. Don't wanna open those wounds again." Kiba replied with his hands on his hips.

"You're right." Star smiled sweetly at him. Just then a puppy, with creamy brown fur with three small white spots on her left ear, one spot on her nose and random spots down her back, scrambled over to her and pawed at the couch. She bend over to pick her up. "Hey there cutie. What's your name?"

"She doesn't have a name yet. She really doesn't like people." Kiba replied as he watched Star with the puppy. The pup was a new addition to the Inuzuka household and was quiet a handful. She didn't seem to like anyone. Hana had rescued the pup from a brutal owner so the pup wasn't every trustful of people. Until now.

"Well, would you like your parents if they didn't give a name to you? All she needs is a name…." Star said thoughtfully. Kiba watched her intently. "Let's see now…..how about….Twilight?"

"Twilight?" Kiba asked. The puppy barked and licked Star's face happily. "Well, how about that."

"See? All she needed was a name." Star giggled as the wet tongue tickled her.

"I guess so." Kiba nodded. He was genuinely impressed by this girl. _She's so calm…so natural….so good with animals and so….cute. Hold on!_ Kiba shook his head. Where did that come from? Star looked at him and noticed a strange look on his face.

"You ok? You look weird." Star asked bring him back to Earth.

"Uh…yeah! I'm fine." Kiba scratched the back of his head as Akamaru gave him a curious look. "Well, I've got chores to do. Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat? You should eat. You need your strength back."

Star shook her head. "I'm ok. Thank you. You do what you need to do."

"You sure?" Star nodded. "Ok then. Holler if you need anything. I'll be able to hear you. I'm just going outside."

"Ok." Kiba nodded then headed for the door. "Thank you."

Kiba smiled back at her before heading out. "Not a problem."

Later that night, Kiba took Star to the bathroom and sat her on the edge of the tub. He reached over and turned on the water, making sure it was the right temperature. "I figured you'd want a bath after all the dog slobber."

Star blushed and kept her eyes glued to the floor. "What's wrong?"

She blushed harder. She wanted to tell him but was too shy. That's when Hana walked by. "What are you doing?"

"Huh? Star wanted a bath. I was gonna…" Hana grabbed the front of his shirt and tossed him out of the bathroom. He flew out and his back smashed against the wall. Akamaru jumped out of the bathroom and joined his side. Kiba sat up and rubbed his head. "What the heck was that for?"

"You aren't going to do anything with her and a bath!" Hana yelled then slammed the door. Kiba sat there, still clueless about the whole thing. Hana turned to Star, who was still blushing like mad and looked about ready to cry. She gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't worry about him. He's a guy. A clueless, boneheaded jerk."

Star nodded then proceeded to remove her clothes.

Meanwhile, Kiba walked back into the living room. Sakura was there talking to his mom. "Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Kiba." Sakura smiled at him. "I brought some clothes for Star. Lady Tsunade sent me shopping for her."

"Cool." Kiba walked over to her.

"Where's Star?" Tsume asked.

"I took her to take a bath." Kiba replied.

"Huh?" Tsume and Sakura looked at him.

"You mean….you….." Sakura asked.

"Kiba, you didn't put her in the tub, did you?" Tsume asked.

"No. Hana threw me out. The brat!" Kiba growl. Tsume and Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Kiba continued to grumble about the rough treatment from his sister and didn't hear them.

Star sat quietly as Hana rewrapped her damaged feet. "Man, you're feet are a mess. What were you doing out there in the forest anyway? What kind of battle were you in?"

"I don't know. I really wish I could remember who I was with and what happened." Star tried to force her memories to come back. "I just don't know."

"Calm down. It's alright. You can't force these things to come." Hana finished wrapping Star's feet. "It'll come on it's own."

"Yeah." Star nodded.

"How's it going?" Kiba asked from the doorway, Akamaru at his side.

"All's fine here. Her wounds look fine." Hana replied.

"That's good." Kiba smiled.

"You better get some rest." Hana told Star before leaving the room.

"Ok." Star replied quietly. Kiba watched Hana go before turning his attention to Star. She was just sitting on her bed with a far off look in her eyes.

"Ya know, you're gonna have to make more noise if ya want people to know you're here." Kiba said.

"Sorry."

"Hm?"

"It's not polite to be loud. A lady should never raise her voice at every little thing."

"Not the girls I know." Kiba laughed. "With the exception of Hinata. I think she's the only quiet girl in the village."

"Hinata?"

"She's a teammate of mine. I'll introduce you to her and my other teammate Shino. You can come to training with us."

"Training. You are a ninja, right?"

"That's right."

"Ninja."

"Do you remember something?" Star shook her head. Kiba studied her for a minute before walking over to her. He place a hand on her head. "Don't worry about it. Hana's right. It'll come soon."

"Yeah." Star nodded.

"Akamaru is going to stay in here with you. If you need something to can ride on his back or ask him to come wake me up."

"Thank you, Kiba."

"Not a problem." Kiba turned to leave.

"Kiba?"

"Yes?"

"Do you..."

"What is it?"

"Do you think that whoever I was in battle with or got attacked by will be able to follow me here? To this village?"

"Honestly?" Star nodded as she looked into his eyes. "Yes. It is possible that whoever attacked you could show up here."

Star clenched the sheet in her hands as fear appeared in here eyes. Kiba walked back over to her and sat down on the bed, facing her. He tilted her chin up so she would look at him. "Don't worry about it. You are safe here. You're in a village full of ninjas that would die to protect you."

"Die to protect me? Outsiders have never be allowed to...uh..." Star's eyes widened. She looked away from him.

"What? What were you about to say?"

"Nothing. It's just...things are done very different in my home than they are here. I'm afraid I know nothing about your culture or how things work."

"Is that all? Don't worry about it. This is a really nice place. You'll get the hang of how things work. Besides, you have me as your personal guide to the village." Kiba gave her a cheesy grin as he pointed to himself. Akamaru barked. "And of course, you have Akamaru too!"

"Yes. Thank you both for being very kind to me." Akamaru barked again and placed his paws on the bed. The two teens laughed at the large dog. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You said you lived on the Island of Stars, right? How far is that from here?"

"I'm not sure exactly since I don't really know where here is. Let's see...there's no telling how many days I was wondering around in the woods before you found me. But if my memory serves me right I believe it takes about two months to travel from my island to this island."

"Two months?"

"That's right."

"Lady Tsunade was right. It will take sometime before she can get word to your parents."

"That won't be a problem will it? If it is I can get a job and a place of my own when my feet are healed."

"Oh no! No, no, no! It's fine! Really. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

"Thank you, Kiba."

"Sure. Now get some sleep."

"Good Night."

"Night. Take care of her, Akamaru." Akamaru barked at Kiba before settling down on the floor right beside the bed. Star smiled at Kiba before he flipped off the light. Star slipped under the covers and settled into her new bed. Memories of her parents, her island and the rules of her world flooded into her mind. _I hope they won't do anything to him. No. I won't permit it. He saved my life. It's not his fault he's an outsider._

**Notes:** **Review please so I'll keep updating this story!** :) I'm not sure if anyone likes this story and your reviews will help me. Also sorry if there are mistakes, I'm working on my proofreading. Let me know what you think of the story.


	3. Meeting the Gang

Chapter Three

Meeting the Gang

"What's wrong, Star?" Hana asked. She, Kiba and Star were sitting around the table eating breakfast. Kiba's mom had already ate and was gone.

"Nothing." Star replied.

"You haven't hardly touched your breakfast." Hana said looking at Star's plate.

"I'm not really that hungry." Star replied.

"Come one, Star. You need to eat to regain your strength. I know Hana's food sucks but you need to eat." Kiba said.

"Well, if my food is that terrible than why are you eating it?" Hana placed her hands on her hips and glared at her younger brother.

"What? I'm a growing boy!"

"It's fine. You're cooking is really good." Star smiled.

"Why, thank you, Star! Glad someone appreciates my cooking!" Hana beamed at the young girl before starting to clean the table. "So, what are you two kids going to do today?"

"Star's got a check up with Lady Tsunade this morning then I'm going to introduce her to the gang, since I've no missions." Kiba replied.

"Well, have fun. I'm off to work." Hana waved to them before heading towards the front door.

"Shall we go?" Kiba asked.

"Sure." Star nodded. Kiba walked to her side and picked her up. He carried her outside before sitting her on top of Akamaru then climbed on himself. Twilight barked and ran around Akamaru. "You coming too, Twilight? Ok. But you better behave."

Kiba smiled as the little dog barked happily at Star.

"Alright, boy, let's go!" Star put her arms around Kiba as they took off. As they walked through the village Kiba told Star about this and that building. Soon they came upon three friends of Kiba's. "Hey, guys!"

"Kiba, how's it going?" Tenten asked with a happy wave.

"Good day to you, Kiba." Lee added. Neji just nodded.

"Where are you off to so early?" Tenten asked.

"I'm taking Star for a checkup." Kiba replied.

"Huh? Who's Star?" Tenten asked. Kiba slid off Akamaru to reveal a new girl sitting side saddle on Akamaru. Twilight cocked her head at the three new people. "She's beautiful!"

"Uh, t-thank you." Star blushed.

"Who is she? I've never seen her in the before." Lee said.

"I found Star outside the village. She was badly injured and she's staying at my house until her parents can come get her." Kiba explained.

"So, where are you from?" Tenten asked.

"Uh, I'm from..." Star bit her bottom lip. Three people already knew where she was from. She couldn't reveal it to everyone. "I'm from..."

"She's from a small island. It's very far from here so not many have heard of it." Kiba suddenly said. Star looked at him. He smiled and gave her a hidden wink.

"Well, welcome to our village! We are very happy to have you here! My name is Rock Lee!" Star watched as a bowl cut black haired boy stepped up to her and took her hands in his. He began to bob them up and down. Twilight barked at Lee but he didn't noticed. "Any friend of Kiba and Akamaru's is a friend of mine!"

Kiba laughed at the confused look on Star's face as Tenten sighed. "Lee you are such a pain. Forgive him, Star. Lee can be a bit...uh..."

"Of a pain in the tail!" Kiba laughed.

"I am not a pain! I am full of youth! I enjoy meeting new friends and training partners!" Lee declared with fire in his eyes and still holding Star's hands.

"Hold on, Lee. Star is NOT a ninja. She won't be doing any training with anyone." Kiba said. "Besides her feet are too damaged to even walk."

"What?" The three looked down at Star's bandaged feet.

"What happened to you?" Lee asked, tightening his hold on her hands.

"Sorry. I don't really know." Star replied.

"Star lost some of her memories." Kiba added.

"That's terrible. Oh, by the way, my name is Tenten. You've already met Lee and this quiet guy here is Neji." Tenten pointed to the boy standing next to her. This whole time he was staring at Star with his eyebrows slightly narrowed. Star locked eyes with him.

"Well, we should be going." Kiba said looking at Star. She nodded then looked back down at the boy holding her hands. "Uh, Lee?"

"Yes?"

"You can let go of her now."

"What?" Lee gave Kiba a clueless look.

"OH! Come on!" Tenten grabbed Lee by the ear and drug him off.

"Ouch! Tenten, what did I do?" Lee whine as he was being dragged through the village. Neji walked up to Star and looked her directly in the eyes. Star wondered if he knew something about her. Neji then nodded at her and walked off.

"That boy." Kiba chuckled about Lee. Twilight barked in agreement with Kiba. "Come on, Akamaru."

Kiba walked beside Akamaru and Star as they continued their way to the hospital. Star looked back at Neji. Did he know about her kind? If so, how did he know? Was he going to say anything?

Kiba, Akamaru and Twilight waited patiently as Tsunade and Sakura looked over Star's feet. "Will you finish by bandaging her feet, Sakura?"

"Of course, Lady Tsunade." Sakura nodded.

"Well, you're feet are heeling fine. Much faster than I thought they would." Tsunade smiled.

"That's great news!" Kiba said.

"Just continue keeping her off her feet and she should be healed in no time." Tsunade order before heading for the door.

"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade. She'll be taken care of as long as she's with me!" Kiba declared.

"He seems to have grown pretty fond of you." Sakura said to Star.

"Uh." Star's cheeks turned a light pink. "I guess."

Star and Sakura look over at Kiba. He was talking to Akamaru and Twilight. "He also seems to have changed a bit."

"Changed?"

"You don't know Kiba like I do. Kiba usually jumps around, screams, making a real spectacle of himself. He has a real wild side about him and loves to get into fights. But since you arrived in his life he seems to have calmed down,"

"I haven't done anything,"

"You ready to go?" Kiba asked.

"Yup! She's all bandaged up and ready to go!" Sakura smiled at the boy.

"Alright!" Kiba proceeded to pick Star up and leave.

"See ya later!" Sakura waved to them as they went.

Star pondered on what Sakura said about Kiba. She wondered if Kiba was really like Sakura had said. Star looked up at the boy who was holding her. Kiba seemed like such a sweet guy who was caring and loved dogs. She didn't know how long she had been staring at him. She suddenly realized he was looking back at her. He was smiling. "What? Do I have some left over breakfast on my face or do you just like staring at me?"

"I'm sorry. I was just...Sorry."

"You really need to stop apologizing so much."

"Sorry." The two teens looked at each other then started laughing.

"Come on. Hinata and Shino are waiting for us." Star was waiting for Kiba to put her back on Akamaru but he just leaped up onto the roof of a near by building. Star cried out in surprise and put her arms around his neck. Kiba chuckled. "Don't worry. You know you're safe in my arms."

Star felt surprised at his words for some reason. He was right. She hadn't known him for all that long but she did feel safe with him. She tightened her hold on him and turned so her face was hidden in his neck. Kiba gave her a questionable look then tightened his hold on her.

Akamaru watched his master from the ground. Twilight barked and leaped up and down. Akamaru wiggled his head under the little pup's body then tossed her up. Twilight landed on Akamaru's back. Once she was safely on his back, Akamaru joined the teenagers on the roof. The small group of four began to race through the village.

As they ran, Kiba and Star almost collided with an orange blur. "Whoa! Oh, hey there Kiba!"

"Naruto, where are you going in such a hurry?" Kiba asked.

"I'm going to see Sakura. We're suppose to train today with Kakashi sensei," Naruto replied. "Hey, who's the girl?"

"This is Star. She's staying with me for a while," Kiba explained, again. "She was injured and I'm taking care of her."

"Injured? How?" Naruto asked.

"Don't know. She lost part of her memory,"

"Oh, well that stinks," Naruto put his hands on his hips and stared at them. His eyes lit up and he quickly appeared beside Kiba. "So, uh, you two dating then?"

"Give it a rest, Naruto!" Kiba grumbled as he turned pink, as did Star.

"What? You're holdin' her ain't ya?"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Sure, sure," Naruto waved. "Well, see ya! Sakura will be mad if I'm late!"

"That kid! He'll never grow up," Kiba said as he watched the orange ninja leave. He then turned and continued on, avoiding looking at Star. That suit her fine. She couldn't look at him either.

Star sat and watched as Kiba and Akamaru bounced around their usual training grounds in the forest. She was really impressed by these ninja. Twilight was sitting on her lap, taking a nap. Hinata walked over to her with a container of water. "Thirst?"

"Uh, thank you," Star took the water as Hinata sat down beside her.

"How are you doing?" Hinata asked.

"I'm fine," Star replied before taking a drink of water.

"That's good. It must be scary, having lost your memories,"

"Yeah. I keep wondering if I'll remember who attacked me if I see them. I mean, it could be anyone. I could have already seen them and not know it,"

"You don't have to worry. We'll protect you if something happens,"

"Thanks, Hinata. Kiba said the same thing," Star smiled at the shy girl. Hinata looked at Kiba.

"Kiba is a very loyal friend. If he says he's going to protect you then he will. I've known Kiba for quite a while now. He's always been there to cheer me on,"

"You all have such a strong bond," Star said with sadness in her voice.

"Do you not have someone to share a bond with back home?" Hinata asked.

"No. Uh, things are very different back home. I really can't have friends,"

"Why not?"

"Huh?"

"Why can't you have friends?"

"Uh...well...it's complicated,"

"Does it have to do with you being different?" Star's eyes widened as she looked at Hinata.

"How did...?"

"I have a special ability of my own. I can't really tell what you are but I know that you are not human,"

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you what...,"

"It's ok. You don't have to tell me anything,"

"There's another in the village with the same eyes as you,"

"Neji. I'm sure he knows too. He's like my brother. Don't worry. He won't tell anyone,"

"Thank you,"

"Well, you ready to go?" The girls look up at Kiba. "We're done training for the day."

"Of course," Hinata smiled. "We'll have to hang out again sometime, Star."

"I'd like that,"

"Oh, and don't worry. I'm sure you'll have special bonds one day," Hinata nodded then wink before leaving with Shino.

"Special bonds? What was that about?" Kiba looked at Hinata then at Star.

"Oh, it was nothing," Star smiled lightly as she looked down at the pup in her lap.

"Ok," Kiba said but wasn't convinced. He picked her up. The three got on Akamaru and headed home. On their way they meet some more of Kiba's friends.

"So, you're the girl everyone is talking about," The largest of the three said.

"This is Star. Why is everyone's talking about her?" Kiba asked.

"There's crazy rumors going around about her," The girl with the long blonde hair said.

"Rumors?" Star asked trying to keep panic out of her voice. Shikamaru was the only one who caught it.

"What kind of rumors?" Kiba asked.

"There's some silly rumors going around about this girl being from some magical island," Shikamaru said with humor in his voice. He kept his eyes on the new girl.

"Isn't that the crazies thing you ever heard?" Ino laughed.

"Really crazy!" Kiba laughed then explained why she was here. "Star, this is Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you," Ino smiled.

"Hi!" Chouji greeted.

"Welcome to the village," Shikamaru sounded like he didn't know what to say. He locked eyes with Star.

"Hey, who's this cutie?" Ino asked as she leaned down to Twilight. Twilight barked and happily wagged her tail.

"Uh, Twilight," Star replied, breaking her eyes from Shikamaru.

"Well, aren't you just the cutest thing ever!" Ino squealed.

"We better get home. I'm starving," Kiba announced. "See you guys later."

"Hm," Shikamaru watched as they left.

"Hey, you coming, Shikamaru? Asuma sensei is waiting!" Ino screamed.

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru turned and joined his friends.

"Something wrong, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.

"I'm not sure,"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. For now anyway. I'm just curious about this girl, Star," Shikamaru said. Ino marched along in front of them so she didn't hear what they were talking about.

"You don't think those rumors are true, do you?" Chouji asked.

"Not sure. But the way she was acting? It's possible," Shikamaru replied. Chouji looked at his best friend. "If that's true...then we might get drawn into something we know nothing about."

Star sighed as she sat soaking in her bubble fill bath. "Something wrong, Star?"

"Hana? Have you even had a to keep a secret that you really wanted to share with someone?"

"Mm, can't say that I have,"

"I see,"

"Huh?" Hana turned and studied the young girl. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know," Star stared off in space. "Hana, I'm keeping some very important from you all. I want to tell you who I really am but I can't."

"You mean, you want to tell Kiba?"

"What? What do you mean? I'm keeping this from everyone not just him,"

Hana smiled sweetly at her then sat down on the edge of the tub. "Star, you maybe keep this secret from us all but you feel most guilty from keeping it from Kiba."

"I do?"

"I see. You don't have any close relationships with anyone back home, do you?"

"No,"

"Well, you have one here,"

"Huh?"

"Star, you've formed a bond with Kiba and you feel guilty about hiding who you are from him,"

"I understand..but...what do I do? Should I tell him the truth?"

"I can't answer that. It's your choice whether or not to tell him your secrets. It's a tough decision but it's up to you,"

Kiba was standing cross armed, leaning against the wall. Akamaru and Twilight were outside somewhere. Kiba's mind kept wandering back to what Shikamaru had said. _I wonder why people would be saying things like that. Magic doesn't exist. Does it? It can't. Star would tell me if she was some kind of magical creature. Then again...she doesn't really smell human. She does then she doesn't. I wonder why._

The bathroom door sliding open broke Kiba out of his thoughts. Hana stepped out. "There you go. She's all yours again."

"Don't say that. She's not mine,"

"She's your friend, isn't she?"

"Uh, yeah," Kiba mumbled as he stepped into the bathroom. Star was staring down at the floor with a sad confused look in her eyes. _Star? She looks so sad._ "You ok?"

"Uh, yeah. Just a little homesick," Star managed to give him a small smile. Kiba picked her up in his arms. She put her arms around his neck and held tightly.

"Star?" She tightened her hold when he said her name. He didn't know what to say. He just turned and took her to her room. His mind was racing as he thought about what Shikamaru said and the way Star was acting now.

Kiba sat her down on her bed then turned to leave. Star grabbed his hand. "Star?"

"Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do. Why are you asking me something like that?" Kiba sat down on her bed.

"How could you trust someone you don't know?" Star stared at their hands.

"Star?"

"Kiba, I'm a...," Star looked up. She was about to spill everything to him but her voice caught in her throat. "Sorry. I'm just tired."

"Ok. You get some rest then," Kiba gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Kiba?"

"What?" Star leaned forward. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder and put her arms around his waist. "Thank you."

"It's alright," Kiba put his arms around her. _She smells like vanilla. It's nice. I never noticed it before._ Kiba rubbed her back before pulling away. "You get some rest now."

Kiba got up and headed for the door. "I'll send Akamaru in when he comes in from outside."

"Thanks, Kiba," Star smiled. Kiba returned her smiled before leaving.

**Notes:** AW! Kiba and Star as sooo cute! I just wanna hug them! Hope you like this chapter! R&R please!


	4. Hearts and Secrets

Chapter Four

Hearts and Secrets

"You ready?" Kiba asked.

"Yup." Star nodded. She stood up from her bed and joined him. She's been at the Inuzuka household for about three weeks now. Her feet were healed enough that Tsunade allowed her to spend no more than five minutes on them now.

The two, plus Akamaru and Twilight, walked out of the house. Kiba was going to pick up some medicine for Hana. The two walked slowly through the village. Kiba didn't want her to over work her feet. After a while her feet started to throb, she didn't say anything.

Kiba looked over at her. He knew. So he swept her off her feet. "Will you quit being so stubborn?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you, huh, me. If your feet start hurting, please say something. I don't want you in pain."

"Uh...sorry." A light pink rose on her cheeks. Kiba smiled then placed her on Akamaru. Twilight barked in frustration.

"Sorry." Kiba laughed as he picked up the puppy and placed her in Star's arms. "I didn't mean to take your mommy away from you."

"You little brat. You be nice to Kiba." Star ordered but couldn't help but smile. Twilight whined at her then barked at Kiba.

"It's ok, Twi." Kiba roughed up the pup's fur. Neither of them noticed the two boys, a little older than them, watching them walk down the street. One had brown hair, the other black.

"Is that her?" The boy with brown hair asked.

"Yup. Really something, isn't she?" The black haired boy grinned mischievously.

"You crazy? She's, like, dating Inuzuka."

"No, she's not. She's just staying with him. Apparently he found her outside the village, really messed up."

"You're not going for her, are you?"

"Yup. She's too good for stupid Inuzuka."

"Man, this isn't going to end well."

A few minutes later they were outside the store. "Why don't you go for a stroll with Akamaru? He's not really welcomed in this place anymore. Not since he knocked just about all the medicine bottles off the shelves."

"Ok." Star nodded with a smile.

"Take care of our girls, Akamaru." Kiba patted his head. Akamaru wagged his tail and barked happily. "See you in a few minutes."

"Alright. Let's go Akamaru." Star said and he turned around and took off. They strolled peacefully until the two boys from before stepped in front of them. Akamaru gave them a curious look then tried to walk around them.

"Whoa now. What's your hurry?" The black haired boy asked.

"Sorry. Uh…who are you?" Star asked.

"I'm Lane." The black haired boy replied. He jerked his head to his friend. "That's Yuki."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Star. This is Akamaru and Twilight." Star replied. "If you'll excuse us."

Akamaru took her cue and started walking again. Lane stopped them again. "Hold on. What's your hurry?"

"I should be getting back." Star replied, her senses rose as she got a bad feeling in her stomach.

"I think you should stay" Lane gleamed up at her.

"I can't. Kiba will be waiting for me."

"He can wait then." Yuki said as he grabbed Twilight from her.

"Hey!"

"Cute mutt." Yuki replied looking Twilight over. Twilight growled at him then bit his hand. "Yeow!"

Yuki tossed Twilight to the ground. Star gasped. "Don't do that!"

"Stupid mutt shouldn't have bit me! She needs to be taught manners!" Yuki said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Don't you touch her!" Star jumped of Akamaru and grabbed for Yuki.

"Hold on there, pretty little one." Lane grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

"Let go!" Star demanded.

"What's your problem? Don't you want to be with a real man? Unlike Inuzuka. He's a child. You need someone who will take care of you." Star instantly didn't like the way he said that. Twilight began to yip, Akamaru started to growl. Yuki kicked his foot at Twilight. Akamaru leaped in to protect her and caught the kick right in the side.

"Akamaru!" Star shoved Lane away from her and slammed her fist into Yuki's cheek. It wasn't enough power to actually hurt him but it did leave a nice little red mark.

"Why you little…" Yuki grabbed her arms.

"Let go!"

"I'm going to teach you some manners!" Yuki hissed as Lane just smirked.

"Release me at once!" Star struggled against him. But he wouldn't release her. She did manage to free her right arm and did something she shouldn't have done. She pulled back her hand and slapped him across the face. "Star Slap!"

Star slapped a star shape on his face and it sent a shock through his body. He dropped to the ground, completely shocked. Lane narrowed his eyes. "You stupid woman! You're going to pay for that!"

Lane lunged for her. Akamaru leaped in his way. Lane reacted, surprisingly quick, and kicked Akamaru so hard it made him yelp. He then grabbed Star by the front of her shirt. She struggled against him and kicked his shin. "You're going to regret that!"

Lane shoved her hard. She fell to the ground. She hit the ground then felt a sharp pain shoot through her right foot. Lane had kicked her. She felt her skin split open and blood filled her shoe and sock.

"Let's see...do I have everything?" Kiba mumbled to himself as he looked through the bag he was carrying. "I think so. Time to find Star."

Kiba lowered the bag and began to sniff his friends out. He picked up their scent and followed it. He rounded a corner and froze in his tracks. He watched in shock when he saw Akamaru on the ground and a boy kicked Star in the foot. Anger rushed over him and pushed him forward.

"You should have gave into me. Now you're going to pay." Lane cracked his knuckles. Star winced at the pain shooting through her foot as the boy advanced on her. She felt like she was put in slow motion as Lane prepared to hit her. Suddenly a fist crashed into Lane's face, sending him flying. Star watched as Kiba appeared out of no where and punching the guy square in the face, dropping his sister's supplies in the process.

"What the..." Lane picked himself up and looked up. Kiba towered over him. The daggered filled glare Kiba was giving him made him shiver. Kiba wasted no time in grabbing the boy by the shirt and punching him in the face again.

"You stupid son of a sewer rat! How dare you touch her!" Kiba would have probably killed the boy if Akamaru hadn't stepped in and stopped him. Kiba released his prey and looked at his dog. Yuki took this time to grab Lane and scurry off like little mice. "Get back here! I'm not done with you!"

Kiba started to run after them but Akamaru grabbed his pant leg in his mouth. "Akamaru, let go!"

Akamaru whined and shook his head. "Huh?"

Kiba looked over at Star. She was watching him with a shocked look on her face and tears streaming down her face, while holding her foot. She's never seen him like this. She's known him as a kind and gentle boy. But this Kiba...

In his anger he forgot she needed help. He walked over to her and kneeled down. "Star?"

He reached out to touch her and, much to his surprise, she jerked away, afraid he was going to hurt her. He gave her a hurt look. Though he couldn't really blame her. She's never seen him so mad and in full battle mode before. He placed his hand on her face and turned her to look at him. She slowly opened her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just….I lost it when I saw that creep hurt you."

The fear in her eyes subsided as she stared into his eyes. He was back to the boy she had came to know. She placed her hand over his. He gave her a weak smile. "Does it hurt?"

She nodded. He carefully took off her shoe and sock. It took every part of his being not to dash off and hunt down those rats when he saw her foot bleeding, a lot. He picked her up. "Let's get you to the hospital. Come on, Akamaru…Twilight."

Akamaru barked in agreement. Twilight was scrambling around on the ground, picking up the spilled contents of the brown bag. Well she was pushing them back in the sack. Once done, she barked at Akamaru. He turned to her and picked up the bag in his mouth then followed after his master.

Sakura was furious when Kiba and Star was done telling them what happened. Tsunade stayed calm, but on the inside she was boiling. Star was such a sweet girl. She ordered Star off her feet again for a few days to let the new wound heal then released her. Kiba placed Star on Akamaru then climbed up himself. Only this time he sat behind Star. He didn't want to accidentally hit her foot.

"I'm going to pay those boys a little visit." Sakura turned to find her mentor missing. "Huh?"

Star leaned against Kiba as they headed home. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It's not your fault" Kiba replied softly.

The two passed those boys on the way home. Kiba glared at them and tightened his grip on Star. If Yuki had a tail it would be tucked under his butt right now. Lane didn't respond as a towel was covering his face.

Kiba carried her in the house with a don't mess with me right now look on his face. Hana placed her hands on her hips. "Well, where's my stuff?"

Akamaru gave it to her. She found cracked bottles. "Hey! What happened? Why are they cracked?"

That's when she caught a hint of fresh blood in the air and the look Kiba had on his face when he walked in the door. She let it go.

Sakura walked through the village. She was hot and heavy to get to those boys. She meet Lee on the way. "Good evening, Sakura."

"Not now, Lee!" Sakura barked.

"What is wrong?"

"I'm going to pound me some boys!"

"What happened?"

"Two jerks picked on Star today. Her foot broke open again!"

"That is terrible!" Lee went with her. Both were fond of Star. Shoot everyone that meet her liked her. They pounced up to the Lane's house and were about to barge in when Tsunade walked out with her eyes closed. "Lady Tsunade?"

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Taking care of some business." Was all she said as she walked off. The two teens exchanged looks then looked inside the house. Big sweat drops appeared on the back of their heads. Tsunade leveled the place leaving the boys upside down on their heads and a strongly worded letter for their parents to come see her.

Star sighed as she started up at her ceiling. This was the second time Kiba saved her. Something heavy was weight on her mind now. She had to tell Kiba the truth. She sat up in bed. Akamaru looked up at her. "Come here, boy. I need to see Kiba."

Akamaru stood up and wagged his tail. He stepped closer to the bed. Star stood up, keeping pressure off her newly damaged foot, and sat on Akamaru's back. Twilight hopped off the bed and followed them. The three left the room and headed for Kiba's. Once there she climbed on his bed and watched him sleeping. She smiled at his sleeping form. She reached out and touched his cheek. He had washed off his red marks.

Her mind went blank as she stared at him. Her hand cupped his face and she rubbed his cheek with her thumb. Star's mind was brought back to reality when Twilight whined at her. She looked at her hand. _What am I doing?_

She reached out and shook Kiba's shoulder. "Kiba? Kiba, wake up."

"Hm…Huh? Star, what is it?" Kiba shot up in bed and grabbed her shoulders.

"Calm down. I'm fine." Kiba relaxed but kept his hands on her shoulders.

"What's up then?"

"Couldn't sleep. Can we go outside? Just for a while?" Kiba raised an eyebrow at her but did as she wished. He grabbed his coat on the way out. They went out to a special place where Kiba loved to hang out with Akamaru and take a nap or something.

The stars were clearly visible tonight.

"So, why are we out here?"

"It's a nice night."

"I guess." Kiba went quiet as he looked at her. Something was on her mind. He waited for her to tell him. She sighed and crawled off Akamaru. She took a few steps away from them, walking on her right toes. "Hey! You're not suppose to be walking!"

Kiba rushed to her side. He was going to tell her to sit down but the look on her face shut him up. "Kiba, I've kept something from you."

"Huh?" "I, kinda, lied about who I was."

"What do you mean?" "Kiba, I'm not who you think I am."

"Star, you're not making any sense." Star turned to face him. And much to his surprise, she started glowing. He stumbled backwards as he watched her change. Her clothes were replaced with a light blue dress that hugged her chest down to her hips then flowed freely with a golden sash around her waist. Her ears shifted and came to a point then two sparkling white wings rose up on her back. "S-Star? Wh-What's..."

"Kiba, I am the only heir to the throne of the Island of Stars." Star said as she hung her head. Akamaru cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. Twilight didn't seem to care that Star's physical appearance had changed as she sat beside Akamaru.

"Ok then. That doesn't seem….WAIT A MINUTE! HEIR? That means you're…"

"That's right. I'm a princess and a fairy." Star admitted. She felt ashamed for lying to him. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm not suppose to reveal who I am to anyone that doesn't live on my island."

Tears began to stream down her face. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you so many times. I….I just…..I didn't….."

Kiba felt a twitch in his chest. He quickly walked forward and wrapped his arms around her, taking her by surprise. "I wouldn't care if you are Queen of the Moon. You're still you."

"Kiba." Star looked at him then wrapped her arms around his waist. Kiba kept one arm around her and stroked her hair with the other. He breathed in her scent. He wanted to know everything about her. Her scent had come so familiar to him. She smelt of vanilla, which became his favorite scent. "Uh….Kiba?"

"Hm?" Kiba mumbled as he continued to take in her scent. It finally hit him and he released her with bright red on his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head and sat down. "Sorry."

Star smiled at him then looked up at the sky. They remained quiet after that. Kiba waited for his embarrassment to pass before looking at her again. She seemed even more beautiful as a fairy. The moon light lit her up and she was glowing. Kiba cursed himself and blushed again. Then noticed she was still standing. "You…should sit. Don't want to irritate your foot."

Star sat down, now back to her human form. The two went quiet. Kiba kept stealing glances of her. He noticed her arms wrapped around herself and placed his coat over her shoulders. "Huh?"

"You're cold."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine. A bit hot actually," Kiba replied honestly, his face still burning. He laid back with his hands behind his head. Star pulled her arms through the jacket and laid back. The jacket smelled of him. She liked it. She liked behind near him. He made her feel safe. He was someone who she could talk to. She didn't have that back home. Being royal has more down points than most people thought.

She didn't want to think about home right now so she forced those memories out of her head. Soon she founded her eyes closing and was drifting off to sleep. Kiba didn't know it until she placed a hand on his chest. He blushed bright red, again. "W-What are you d-doing?"

He calmed down when he saw her slumbering. She mumbled in her sleep as she snuggled closer to him. "Kiba...you're so warm."

"Uh…" Blushed harder. Akamaru chuckled at him. "Oh shut up!"

Akamaru and Twilight curled up together. Star shifted in her sleep and Kiba settled down a bit. It took several more minutes for him to get comfortable with her so close to him. He didn't even know why his heart was racing so fast. He's been this close to her before. What makes this time any different?

**Notes:** There you go! Chapter four. Hope you like! I do. I wanna hug Kiba!


	5. Can't Always Protect

Chapter Five

Can't Always Protect

Star's body felt heavy as she sat staring off into space. She and Kiba join the rest of his teammates, Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru and Chouji at a restaurant for lunch. She didn't eat much of breakfast and still didn't feel like eating for lunch. Her head swam as she looked up at her friends, they were chatting happily. She looked back down at the pork sizzling. Her stomach turned. Twilight looked up at Star, from her spot on her master's lap, and whined.

Her blurry eyes looked up when a hand placed itself on her forehead. Kiba looked at her with concerned eyes. "You have a fever."

"I'm fine." Star replied as Sakura reach over and placed a cold hand on her forehead. Star whined and pulled away from the cold treatment.

"You should take her home, Kiba. She don't look so good." Sakura said.

"Alright." Kiba nodded then stood up. He took Star's arm and helped her stand up. Star's head spun around and her knees buckled. Kiba grabbed her before she could fall and picked her up. "Whoa. Easy now."

"Kiba." Star gratefully laid her head on Kiba's shoulder.

"We'll see you guys later." Kiba said.

"Right." Naruto nodded.

"Feel better, Star." Hinata said.

"I'll be by later to see how she's doing." Sakura said.

"Thanks, Sakura. Come on, Akamaru, Twilight." Kiba turned and left. On their way home they came across Lee. He waved happily at them.

"Good afternoon." Lee greeted with a smile. "Huh? What is wrong with Star?"

"She's not feeling to good. I'm taking her home." Star opened her eyes and looked at Lee. She gave him a weak smile.

"Not feeling so good, huh?" Lee placed his hand on her head. She nodded. "Do not worry about a thing, Star. Kiba will take good care of you."

"Yeah." Star nodded again.

"Take good care of our girl, Kiba." Lee said as he looked at Kiba.

"You bet I will." Kiba nodded then proceeded to head for home.

No one was home when they got there. Kiba didn't even bother to turn on the lights as he walked through the empty house. He went straight to Star's room. Akamaru grabbed her covers and pulled them down. "Thanks, boy."

Kiba gently laid her down then pulled the covers over her. He sat down on the bed when she opened her eyes and looked at him. She pulled out a hand from underneath the covers and held it up to him. He took it. Her whole body was shaking from the chills. "You ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you want something? Soup?"

"Just sleep."

"Alright." Kiba gave her hand a light squeeze. "You rest."

Star tucked her hand back under the covers and shifted until she was comfortable. Twilight jumped upon the bed and curled up beside her. Kiba then stood up and left, leaving the door slightly open.

"What's wrong with her?" Kiba asked as Sakura leaned over Star's bed.

"I'm not sure. How long has she been like this?" Sakura pulled her hand away from Star's forehead. Star's breathing was raspy, she was shaking, coughing and her temperature had shot through the roof.

"It came on suddenly. She was sleeping fine. I was in the living room. Twilight came and got me." Kiba replied with a shaky voice. "Is it the flu?"

"I don't think so." Sakura replied.

"What do we do then?"

"We should take her to Lady Tsunade."

"Right." Kiba picked her up and followed Sakura to the hospital.

Once there, Tsunade gave her a complete check up and still couldn't figure out what was going on with Star's system. Tsunade looked over at Kiba. He'd been pacing the room, with the dogs watching him, while she checked Star out. "Isn't there anything you can do for her?"

Tsunade then over at Sakura. "Sakura?"

"Yes, milady?"

"Will you excuse us?"

"Huh? Ok." Sakura blinked confusingly at her mentor then excused herself from the room. Tsunade waited until Sakura closed the door before turning back to Kiba.

"I don't know how her immune system works or what kind of sicknesses she has in her homeland." Tsunade said. Kiba looked wide eyed at her.

"Then...you know who...uh...what she is?"

"I've heard of her kind before but wasn't sure if the stories were true. But, after meeting her in person, I knew that the stories were true." The two looked back at the sick girl. Kiba tightened his fists at the thought of not being able to help her.

"Then, what can we do?"

"I'll keep a close eye on her tonight then she can go home tomorrow." Tsunade studied her young ninja's face. It was very obvious that Kiba had become very close to their visiting fairy. She placed her hand on Kiba's shoulder to get his attention. "She's going to be fine. And there's no point in you sitting around here worrying. You go on home. You can come back tomorrow and get her."

"But I'm..."

"Go on, Kiba. She's going to be fine. I won't let anything happen to her." Tsunade gave him a look that told him that this wasn't up for debate. Kiba gave one more concerned look at Star before reluctantly leaving her side. Akamaru followed after him. Twilight stayed behind and jumped up on the bed, curling up to Star's side.

"Hn." Tsunade turned to Star as she stirred. "Lady Tsunade?"

"You're fine. You're at the hospital now. I'm going to take good care of you."

"It's my fault I got sick."

"What do you mean?"

Kiba got halfway down the hall when he decided he wasn't going to leave. He couldn't. He whipped around and ran back to the room. He grabbed the door handle and slid it opened.

"There's nothing you can really do for me. I got sick because I told Kiba what I really am."

"Huh?" Kiba froze, the door only sightly open.

"What do you mean? How could telling Kiba about your heritage make you sick?"

"It just happens when my kind tell a human about being a fairy. It's just a price we have to pay for revealing such a fragile secret since most humans don't believe in magic. It's a negative effect, a backlash of sorts. Some fairies have died from this."

Kiba felt like his breath got knocked out of him when Star said that. His hand dropped from the door handle. Akamaru whined at his master. Kiba clenched his fists then spun around and bolted away from the door. Sakura was looking at a clipboard when he and Akamaru came rushing by. She about dropped the clipboard. "Hey! Slow down, Kiba! What's wrong?"

Sakura watched as Kiba and Akamaru flew out the door. "What was that about? I wonder if Star..."

Sakura whipped around and ran for Star's room.

"I see. You knew that and you still told him?"

"Yes. I told him because he had a right to know who I am. Besides, I'll be fine as long as he believes in my magic."

"Believes?"

"Those who tell a human, who don't believe in magic, about the powers are the ones who die."

"I understand."

"Star!" Sakura flung the door open. She relax when she saw Star. "She's ok?"

"Sakura?" Tsunade asked. "What's wrong?"

"Thank goodness. I thought something happened to Star with the way Kiba stormed out of here." Sakura sighed as she placed a hand over head thumping heart.

"Kiba?" Tsunade asked.

"He...He must have over hear me. I've to go talk to him." Star said as she struggled to sit up.

"No, ma'am. You are going to lay right back down and get some rest." Tsunade said as she placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders and pushed her back down.

"But...Kiba..."

"I'll go talk to him. He needs to hear a strong voice right now and you're too weak to get through that thick skull of his." Tsunade smiled before leaving the room.

The entire village was just a blur as Kiba ran through it. Tears stung his eyes as he ran out to the training area he and his teammates usually used. He ran right up to a tree and punched it, taking a huge chunk out of it. The tree cracked and snapped before falling over from the lack of trunk support. Akamaru laid down and whined.

"What the?" Shino looked up as the tree fell. He was out collecting bugs as usual. He saw Kiba standing there looking upset with a now bleeding hand. Shino walked over to him. "Hey, what the big idea going around attacking innocent trees?"

"Shut up, Shino! I'm not in the mood to deal with your crap!" Kiba hissed.

"What's wrong?" Shino asked.

"Nothing!" Kiba snapped then whipped around to leave.

"Where's Star?" Kiba froze in his tracks. "Kiba, where is she?"

"S-She's...going to...die..."

"What?"

"She going to die and it's my fault!" Kiba whipped back around with tears streaming down his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"She told me that she was a fai..."

"Kiba!" The two boys turned to Tsunade. "Shino, will you excuse us?"

"Of course, Lady Tsunade." Shino bow then left. Tsunade watched him leave then turned to Kiba. Tsunade walked over to Kiba and took his bleeding hand in hers. She proceeded to heal it.

"What am I going to do with you? You over hear part of a conversation then run out and injure yourself."

"What?"

"Star's going to be fine."

"But she said..."

"Yes, she said some have died from revealing who they are but that's only if that human doesn't believe in their magic. Kiba, do you believe in her magic?"

"What?"

"Kiba, do you believe in her magic?" Tsunade looked up from his hand and right into his eyes.

"Yes."

"Then that's all she needs to get through this." Tsunade finished by wrapping his hand up in a bandage before placing her hands on her hips. "She really is something else."

Kiba slightly nodded. Tsunade stayed with him for a little while longer before insisting he go home and get some rest. She promised that she would make sure that Star wasn't alone all night long. Kiba reluctantly agreed then headed home for a night of restless sleep.

Kiba was up early the next day. He gave his mom and sister a short version, leaving out the fairy part of course, of what happened before skipping breakfast and heading straight to the hospital with Akamaru. When they returned to her room Sakura was just leaving. "How is she?"

"She's sleeping. You here to take her home?"

"Yeah."

"Make sure she gets plenty of rest and fluids."

Kiba nodded to the young medical ninja before stepping into the room. Star coughed in her sleep then rolled over to now be facing him towards him. He walked over to her and slipped his arms under her thin frame. He lifted her with ease. She shivered and snuggled closer to his warm body.

Twilight barked at the boy before jumping off the bed and joining Akamaru's side. The small group of four headed for home. The dogs stayed outside and began to play with some of the other dogs on the grounds as Kiba took Star inside.

Once she was back in her bed Kiba brushed his hand on her cheek. He gave her a small smile before getting up. He was halfway out the door when she woke up. "Kiba?"

"Yes?"

"Come here." Star shifted and signaled for him to sit beside her on the bed.

"You really shouldn't be moving. You need to rest." Kiba said as he walked back over to her.

"Sit." Star said with a hit of authority in her sick voice. The different tone caused her to through herself into a coughing fit. Kiba sat down beside her and put his arms around her. He held her tightly until her fit stopped. She sighed, laid her head on his shoulder, then began to speak, in a softer tone. "I'm sorry, Kiba."

"For what?"

"I know you over hear me speaking to Lady Tsunade yesterday."

"Oh?"

"I'm sorry that I scared you like that. I should have told you but I didn't want you to worry."

"How can I not worry about you?" Kiba asked as he brushed his thumb on her arm. "For whatever reason, you've become very important to me. I want to protect you."

"You can't always protect me." Kiba's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"Kiba, we both know that I'm not going to be here for..."

"Hush."

"But, Kiba, I..."

"Hush!" Kiba said again in a more harsh tone. Star tilted her head so she could look at him. Shadows had fallen over his eyes.

"Kiba?"

"Don't talk about that. I don't want to hear it."

"But, Kiba..."

"NO!" Kiba's voice got louder and his grip got tighter on her. Star watched him for a few seconds before a wave of tiredness washed over her. She laid her head back on his shoulder and sighed. He was right. She really didn't want to think about that either. But for how long could they keep pushing it aside? Her parents were going to send someone for her. She would have to leave.

She placed her hand over his right hand, which was on her arm and still wrapped up in a bandage. She didn't have to ask why his hand was wounded. She knew she was the reason why.

"I'm sorry, Kiba." Star whispered.

"It's alright." Kiba replied, also in a whisper. "You get some rest. I'll bring you some soup later."

"Ok." Star slightly nodded. Kiba stood up from the bed and made sure she was tucked in before leaving.

Hana had returned, from where ever she was, and was now sitting on the couch when Kiba reentered the living room. He barely acknowledged her presence as he went into the kitchen and began to look around to see what kind of soup they had. Hana smiled as she watched her little brother bustle around the kitchen. "Well, I never thought I'd see this day come."

"What?" Kiba asked, even though he really didn't care what she had to say right now.

"The day you fall in love." Hana smirked. Kiba dropped the bowl he was holding. It made a clunk then wobbled to a stop. He whipped around and glared at her.

"What do you mean? I'm not in love!"

"Poor little pup. You've got it bad and don't even realize it." Hana chuckled as she got up and went outside.

"She's just a freind. Love? How ridiculous." Kiba grumbled as he bent down and picked up the bowl. His glare lightened as he stood up. "Just a friend. That's all."

Kiba rolled over on his back and stared up at his ceiling. His mind was still reeling with was Hana said. He couldn't sleep because of her teasing. He does care for Star. But like that? "Do I? Do I care for her like that?"

Kiba rubbed his face then kicked off his covers. He got up and headed for the kitchen. He filled him a glass of water and drank it before putting the glass in the sink and heading back for his room. He paused outside his door when heard Star's faint cough down the hall. He stepped away from his room to go check on her.

Star had rolled over when he came in the room, her back was now towards him. He reached under the covers and touched her arms. She was cold and shivering. He left the room then came back with the thickest blanket he could find. He placed the blanket over her. Her body shook as she entered into another coughing fit.

Kiba couldn't stand that she was so sick. He really felt like it was his fault. She told her secret to him after all. He wanted to help her. He lifted up the blankets and crawled into bed beside her. He put his arms around her and held her cold body to his warm one, trying to warm her up. His arms tightened each time she coughed.

"I got it! That should be Sakura!" Kiba said as he walked over to the door. Sakura has been coming by for the past three weeks to check up on Star's condition. Her arrival was like clock work. She always came over after her work at the hospital was done. He opened the door to reveal his friends, all of them, standing there.

"Hi, Kiba!" Naruto greeted with a huge smile.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Kiba asked.

"We came to see how Star is doing." Lee replied as Kiba stepped aside to let them in.

"Sorry, Kiba. They followed me." Sakura gave Kiba an apologetic smile.

"It's alright." Kiba replied but his face revealed he wasn't so sure.

"She in her room?" Naruto asked as he lead everyone else through the house.

"Yes. But I don't think that you all should..." Kiba pouted as his friends ignored him and headed to Star's room. Sakura gave him another apologetic smile before following after them. Kiba stuck his hands in his pocket then followed after the pink haired girl.

Star was sitting propped up on several pillows. She was reading a book, while just about every dog in the Inuzuka clan laid about here and there in her room, when there was a knock on the door. Star answered in a raspy voice. "Come in."

The door busted open to reveal her friends. "Hi, guys. What's up?"

"We came to see how you were doing." Lee smiled brightly at her. "We have really missed seeing you around the village."

"Yeah! We've really missed you and Kiba!" Naruto nodded.

"How are you feeling, Star?" Tenten asked.

"A lot better. Kiba has been a great caretaker." Star replied in her raspy voice and with a smile.

"Yeah. Kiba really is a great nurse." Sakura snickered as does everyone else.

"Shut up!" Kiba blushed and jerked his head to the side. Everyone chuckled again at the blushing ninja. The more pushy ninja sat down on the bed with Star, while the other remained standing or sat on the floor. Kiba studied the scene before him. He smiled as Star happily chatted with their friends about whatever subject they had to talk about. Star looked up at him and smiled. He scratched the back of his head before everyone insisted he join them. He walked over and sat on the bed beside Star.

**Notes: Thanks for your reviews! Hope you keep reading and liking this story! It's getting close to the end so keep reading and reviewing! :)**


	6. Attack P1

Chapter 6

Attack

Part 1

"Where'd Kiba go?" Hinata asked.

"I think he went for a walk with Akamaru." Star replied.

"The fish are almost done. Star, will you go bring them back?" Hinata asked.

"Sure." Star dropped her stick in the fire and stood up. She wandered off from the campsite.

It's been a couple weeks since Star got over her illness. She was now on a simply escort D rank mission with Kiba and his teammates. Tsunade objected to letting Star go with them since she had just gotten over her illness and her feet were still healing. But Kiba convinced her that Star would be fine and that this was a simply escort mission. Tsunade agreed under the condition that Star take it easy and not over do it.

They were now heading back to the village.

She was out well of sight of the others when she realized that she hadn't found Kiba yet. She placed her hands on her hips. "Now, where did he go?"

Star started to walk on when two strong arms shot out of no where. One wrapped around her waist and the other covered her mouth then they pulled her back into a small thicket of trees. Star struggled and mumbled against whoever attacked her. "Calm down. It's just me."

"Hm? Kimbu?" Star mumbled as a familiar voice reached her ears. Kiba chuckled at how his name sounded then finally removed his hand from her mouth. "Kiba! You scared me, you baka!"

Kiba chuckled again and tightened his arm around her waist. Star blushed when she realized she was so closed to him. "W-will y-you let me g-go? The o-others are waiting for u-us."

"I just wanted a moment alone with you. There's something I wanted to tell you." Kiba replied as he finally released her.

"Kiba?" Star turned and faced him. Once she was fully facing him he grabbed her shoulders then pressed her back to a tree. "W-What are you doing?"

"What's wrong, _my princess_? Don't you trust me?" Kiba asked with an emphasis on 'my princess'. The setting sun lit up their little grove of trees. There was a light hit of pink brushed across his face and his eyes were calm and full of emotion.

"Well, uh, ya…I do…but… Hey! What do you mean your prince…hm." Star didn't have time to finish her sentence as Kiba covered her lips with his. Star blushed from head to toe. His kiss was gentle, kind and warm. She recovered from her shock a bit. When he felt her relax he ran his tongue over her lips, asking permission. But she wasn't going to give into him so easily. He still remained gentle with her as he slightly bite her bottom lip.

Star mumbled into the kiss and shook her head. She felt him smirk against her lips. Immediately, she knew something was up. And she got her answer when he shoved his hands up the back of her shirt. Star gasped and opened her mouth to protest. That's when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She just stood there, shocked as he continued to massage the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Still, he was very gentle with her. His hands slid down to her hips, pulling her closer to him. It seemed like an eternity had passed when Kiba finally broke the kiss. He placed a light kiss on her lips. "There. I think that about covers what I wanted to say."

Star stood still, with her back pressed against the tree.

"Kiba! Star! Where are you?" Kiba heard Hinata calling them from the distance.

"Well." Kiba said, a bit disappointed. "We better get back."

Kiba took Star's hand, lacing their fingers together and lead her out of the trees. Akamaru reappeared. Kiba patted him on the head and thanked him for making himself scarce for a few minutes while he talked to Star. Star was still in shock and allowed Kiba to lead her anywhere his heart desired. About halfway back to camp, Kiba stopped and picked her up bridal style. He still fussed about her feet and didn't want her to over use them.

"Where have you two been?" Shino asked once they reenter the camp.

"No where. Just enjoying the view." Kiba replied as he sat Star down gently on the log then he went to get them some food. Star just sat there, staring straight ahead, her face still flushed.

"You ok, Star?" Hinata asked with a hint of worry in her voice. She placed her hand on Star's forehead. "You look a little flushed. Are you feeling sick again? It's ok if you are. You shouldn't push yourself so hard. You're still recovering."

"Don't worry about her, Hinata. I won't let her over due it." Kiba says as he returned to Star, with their food, and sat down beside her. Akamaru wagged his tail and barked.

"Hm." Shino watched and studied both Kiba and Star.

Later that night, Star stared up at the partly cloudy sky. The stars were always visible in her village. Not once has it ever been cloudy there at night. Her mind was swimming with the events of the day. Kiba, the kiss, Kiba, her home, her family, a special friend of hers that was waiting for her to return home, Kiba, Kiba and more Kiba. Star sighed and rolled over on her left side. Maybe it was time to tell Kiba the truth. _**The**_ _**whole truth.**_

Akamaru was snuggled up to her side, at Kiba's request. Star smiled at the sleeping dog. Kiba was always so concerned about her and put her needs ahead of his own. He was a good friend. And with that kiss he gave her...maybe he was more? He did make her heart skip a beat every time she looked at or thought about him. But, still, there was her home. The life she is to return to. Her people are waiting for her. Would she really turn her back on them just because she was falling for a guy? A guy that wasn't from the Island of Stars? He's an outsider. They'd never accept him. That's the way it was. It has been for years. Without realizing it, tears began to stream down her face.

The salty smell of her tears woke up a certain brown haired boy with extreme smelling abilities. She didn't even hear him get up and move over to her until he had her sleeping bag unzipped and crawled in with her, pulling his sleeping bag over them. Star jumped when she finally realized he was there. She quickly wiped away her tears and tried to pretend she was fine. But it was no use. "Wanna tell me why you were crying?"

"Uh….hn….no reason." Star lied, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good.

"You're lying." Star tensed up at the seriousness in his voice when he said her name. "Star…did….did I do something wrong?"

"Uh."

"If…you didn't want me to kiss you then….you should have just pulled away. I mean….I don't want to hurt you. But…it seems like I did."

"No." Star rolled over on her back and turned her head to him. "You did nothing wrong."

"Then, tell me what's wrong." Star looked up at the sky. A star shot across the deep blue sky. _I feel like a shooting star. I…I think I'm falling in love with Kiba._ Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face._ No. I'm not falling. I've fallen for him. Oh no. What have I done?_ Kiba felt his chest tighten. He couldn't stand seeing her cry. He reached over and gently turned her face so she would look at him. "Star, I-I love you."

"Hn." With that Kiba leaned in and gently kissed her. He kept his hand on her face and gently stroked with his thumb.

"Please, don't cry. Whatever it is…you can tell me." Kiba said after breaking the kiss.

"Kiba." His eyes were pleading with her. She had to tell him the truth. But couldn't. So she leaned in and kissed him. It started off gently then evolved into something more passionate.

The next day, Kiba woke before anyone else, just to make sure no one knew he spent the night snuggling with Star. They were packing up their stuff when Kiba finally noticed the little present he left Star. He just about gasp but covered it quickly. Just as quick, he snatched a twig from the ground and walked over to Star. "Huh?"

"You've got a twig in your hair." Kiba took a strand of hair and pulled it over her shoulder, like he was pulling out the twig. He showed her the twig then as he stood up he leaned close to her ear. "If you don't want them to know what we were doing last night, keep you hair over your shoulder."

Star blushed lightly with a nod. Kiba stood up and walked off. Star brushed a few more strains of hair over her shoulder to make sure she covered the hickey. Before long they were off on. Both keep having the longing of wanting to be near the other. Everyone once in a while they would get a few seconds alone but it wasn't much. The only time they got to be close was when Kiba ordered her off her feet. Both climbed on Akamaru's back and with her arms snuggly around Kiba's waist.

"I can't wait till tonight." Kiba spoke low so only she would hear. He placed his hand over her and rubbed his thumb on her hand. Star smiled. Honestly, she couldn't either. Star leaned her forehead on his back. A smile formed on her face as he continued to stroke her hand with his thumb.

Needless to say, that night was the same as the night before. Once Kiba knew Shino and Hinata were fast asleep, he crawled into Star's bed and they had another kissing session. But something was off tonight. Kiba had his arms protectively around her. Akamaru raised his head and looked around when he heard something walking around in the woods. He carefully scanned the area before laying back down. That's when Star's peaceful expression changed to fear and pain. "No…No…"

"No!" Star shot up. Her breathing was rapid and she felt really cold.

"Mh…" Kiba sat up and sleepily rubbed his eyes. "What is it?"

He snapped fully awake when he saw fear in her eyes. Concern flooded his voice. "Star, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I….I don't….I…" Star shook her head then grabbed it in both hands. Kiba placed his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

"It's ok. Calm down." Kiba held her close. After a few minutes, she relaxed. "There. Now, tell me. Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah. I think. I'm not sure. It felt to real to be a dream." Kiba waited patiently for her to continued. That's when they heard it. Something was moving in the woods again. Akamaru immediately got to his feet and started growling.

"What is it, boy?" Akamaru slowly walked around. He was trying to locate whatever it was. Kiba stood up to begin searching too. He sniffed the air and found the slightest hit of lavender. Star snapped out her hand and grabbed him. He smiled and patted her hand. "Stay here."

"No. Don't leave me." Tears filled her eyes. Kiba's chest tightened. He collapsed his hand around hers and helped her stand up. The two began to walk around, with her clinging to his shirt with her free hand.

"What is it, Kiba?" Hinata asked as she and Shino woke up.

"I'm not sure. There's something out there but neither Akamaru or I can tell what it is." Kiba replied.

"Hinata." Shino said.

"Right. Byakugan!" Hinata scanned the woods, slowly.

"Well?" Shino asked after a few minutes.

"I see nothing. Whatever it was seems to be gone now." Hinata replied. Akamaru even started to relax.

"Alright then. Everyone back to bed." Shino ordered. Kiba pulled Star back to her sleeping bag. But she just sat there. Staring blankly into the fire.

"Star?" Kiba sat back up. "You ok?"

Star nodded slightly. He pulled her to his chest once again and whispered softly to her. "It's ok. You're safe with me. I'll protect you. No matter what."

Star smiled and looked at him. His heart skipped a beat. He loved it when she smiled at him. He laid back down, pulling her with him, so she was lying on his chest. Unknown to them, Shino was still awake and watching them.

The next day was a long one for Star. She didn't sleep last night and felt like she was going to fall asleep on her feet. Kiba was about to pick her up when Hinata slowed her walking and joined them. "You alright, Star?"

"I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night. I guess whatever it was out there scared me more than I thought." Star replied with a sleepy smile.

"Yeah. I had trouble getting back to sleep too." Hinata clasped her hands behind her back. Kiba frowned as the two girls continued with their conversation. He really wanted to be alone with Star. But that was going to have to wait, in more ways then one.

Suddenly, Akamaru started barking insanely. Kiba instantly went on alert. "What is it, boy?"


	7. Attack P2

Chapter 6

Attack

Part 2

"Byakugan!" Hinata took a look around. She spotted some large amount of chakra coming right at them. "Look out!"

Before anyone could move, a large blur came leaping out of the woods and landed in the middle of them. The force of the beast's landing was so great that it knocked them all backwards several feet. Shino was the first to recover and speak. "What is that thing?"

They all looked up at a large monstrous beast standing before them. It was ten times larger than Akamaru, with dark brown fur, broad chest, foot long fangs protruding from the top of its mouth and large claws to match. When Star lifted her head to look at the thing she froze in fear. "T-That's…it…"

No one could reacted before the beast turned his red eyes to Star and charged. Star just sat there in fear at the familiar beast. Shino and Hinata cried out. "Star!"

Still she couldn't move. The beast was almost on top of her when a small, but solid force, slammed into its side. The beast slid a few feet away from Star. Star came to her senses enough to see Kiba standing there giving the beast a death glare. "Don't. You. Touch. Her."

The beast let out a low growl in its throat and began to move towards Star. It took a sudden leap. It was fast but Kiba was faster and placed himself between the beast and Star. "Stay away from her! Akamaru, protect Star!"

Akamaru barked and leaped to her side. The three ninja proceeded to battle the large monster, in which none was doing any good. The beast took them down easily. The team was thrown into the forest, leaving Star and Akamaru alone to face the monster. Akamaru gave the beast some warning barks but it didn't phase him. The beast continued to advance on them. Star was still staring in fear. The beast charged at them. Akamaru had to act quick. He knew he couldn't fight this thing and he had to protect Star. So he ducked his head under Star's arms and leaped out of the way just as the beast leaped up and brought it claws down on the spot where they were.

The act brought Star to her senses just enough for her to swing her leg over Akamaru's back so she was now sitting on top of him. Despite the large size of the beast, it quickly recovered from their move and leaped after them. Knocking into them and sending them flying. They landed near the cliff. A few rocks fell loose when they landed. Star looked at the cliff. They were really close to it. Akamaru charged at the beast. He had to protect Star. But he was no match for the beast and it swatted him away like a fly. "Akamaru!"

Star stood up to run after him but the beast was in her way. She took a hesitant step back, only to have her heel touch the edge of the cliff. The beast slowly advanced on her, dragging its tongue over its fangs. Star felt time slow down at the beast leaped at her. If she was back to full strength she could just fly out of there. But she wasn't. The beast was about to crash into her. She accepted her fate. This was the end. It was over. She was never going to be near Kiba again. Or see her home or her parents.

"Star!" Kiba's voice reached her ears. She turned her head to the left and saw him dashing to her. He shoved her out of the way and the beast sunk its teeth into Kiba's left shoulder. Shino and Hinata appeared just as the two went flying off the cliff.

"Kiba!" Star cried.

"Kiba! No!" Hinata covered her mouth. Shino ran over to the cliff and ordered his bugs to fly down and grab him. But it did no good. They were falling too fast. "What do we do?"

Shino looked at her. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly Star rushed passed them and dove head first off the cliff. Hinata gasped. "What's she doing?"

"Come on! We've got to get to the bottom!" Shino said and the two, plus Akamaru, took off to find a way to the bottom of the cliff.

"Did you noticed how that thing kept going after Star?" Hinata asked as they ran.

"Yeah. It was after her." Shino replied. "I wonder why."

Kiba winced in pain as they fell. He had to get this thing off of him. Something caught his eye and he looked up. "Star? What are you doing?"

She didn't answer him. She was engulfed in a familiar glow. Her clothes were replaced with her princess outfit and she kept her wings tucked in. The beast growled. It sensed her presence, which ticked Kiba off. He gave the beast a swift kick to the side. It yelped and released him. "I told you to leave her alone!"

Being way bigger, the beast fell faster. Star took this chance to catch up with Kiba. She reached out her hand. "Kiba!"

"Star!" Kiba reached up his right hand. The two grabbed each other. Star snapped out her wings and slowed their fall, but only by a little. They were still falling dangerously fast. "What are you doing? You're still not healed!"

"I won't let you die!" Star cried.

"Star, stop it! I'm too heavy! You can't fly us both out of this! Let go!"

"No! I won't!"

"Star! Let go! Just let go!"

"Never!" Star suddenly exploded with a burst of energy. A bubble formed around the two of them. It slowed them down tremendously. Both were shocked and just stood there. That is until a sharp pain shot through Kiba's shoulder. He released Star's hand and grabbed his shoulder, dropping to his knees. Star rushed to his side. "Kiba!"

"Hn…I'm…ok.." Kiba gave her a weak smile. She knew he wasn't ok. She knew it was her fault he was hurt. The beast was after her. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face. He was shocked and stared at her. Shadows covered her eyes so he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Suddenly she flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around him. She sobbed as she tightened her hold on him. His blood soaked her shirt, but she didn't care.

"Don't….don't ever tell…me to let go again." Star cried through her sobs.

"Star….I'm….uh…" Kiba didn't have time to apologize as the pain took over and caused him to pass out. He slumped over onto her. She cried out in surprised at how much he weight but still held on to him. The bubbled landed them safely on the ground.

She looked around. She had no idea what to do, the beast had vanished. She clung to him until Shino and Hinata found them. Shino quickly looked over Kiba's injury. He then had his bugs fly ahead of them to the village. "We have to get him on Akamaru."

"Right." Hinata nodded.

"Star, you have to get on Akamaru too."

"Kiba…he's….he was….that beast….was after…me….I'm…sorry…." Star started to sob hysterically.

"Star!" Shino proceeded to slap her across the face. She was brought back to her senses. "Snap out of it! Kiba needs you! You have to ride with him back to the village!"

Star nodded slightly and crawled on Akamaru. Shino and Hinata put Kiba up there in front of her. They were off after that.

Tsunade was sitting, bored, in her office when Shino's bugs came flying into her room and formed the letters of Shino's message.

-Lady Tsunade, Kiba's hurt! Come immediately!-

She wasted no time in assembling Sakura and a few other medical ninjas. They met up with the group within an hour and soon had Kiba back into the hospital. Star continued to blame herself as Hinata comforted her. It seemed like months before Tsunade returned to them with good news. "He's going to be fine."

The water works hit again as relief rushed over Star. Sakura sat down on the other side of Star and help Hinata with comforting her. Tsunade turned to Shino. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

Shino nodded then looked at Star. "But not here."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. Star had been through enough today. She didn't needed to hear it again.

A few minutes later, Kiba was moved to a room and Star sat at his bed side. Kiba's mom and sister arrived shortly after that and Hinata filled them in on what happened. Hana went over and placed a sisterly hand on Star's shoulder. "He'll be ok. He's a ninja after all."

Star only slightly nodded. Hana gave her a weak smile. She knew there was no point in asking Star to come home with her. Star would never leave Kiba's side. So Hana left her. Kiba woke several hours later. Pain shot through his shoulder as he sat up. But that was nothing to the pain he felt in his heart when he looked at Star. She hand her arms crossed over the bed and sleeping. Her face was tear stained and she looked so fragile. "Star."

Kiba pulled his hand out from underneath hers and stroked her hair. Star stirred in her sleep then opened her eyes. "Kiba?"

"Yeah."

"Kiba!" Star through her arms around him and cried. He winced at the pain in his shoulder but dismissed it. Star was more important. He wrapped his uninjured arm around her.

"It's ok. Everything is fine."

"No! It's not fine! That thing was after me! You got hurt because of me!"

"No. It's not your fault. I want to protect you and I will. I…I love you." Kiba spoke softly to her. She calmed down and looked up at him.

"I love you too." Kiba smiled. He wanted to hear those words for so long now. He placed a light kiss on her lips then they settled down for the night.


	8. Nightmares

Chapter 7

Nightmares

_ Star stood up to run after him but the beast was in her way. She took a hesitant step back, only to have her heel touch the edge of the cliff. The beast slowly advanced on her, dragging its tongue over its fangs. Star felt time slow down at the beast leaped at her._

_ "Star!" Kiba's voice reached her ears. She turned her head to the left and saw him dashing to her. He shoved her out of the way and the beast sunk its teeth into Kiba's left shoulder. Shino and Hinata appeared just as the two went flying off the cliff._

_ "Kiba!" Star cried._

_ Being way bigger, the beast fell faster. Star took this chance to catch up with Kiba. She reached out her hand. "Kiba!"_

_ "Star!" Kiba reached up his right hand. The two grabbed each other. Star snapped out her wings and slowed their fall, but only by a little. They were still falling dangerously fast. "What are you doing? You're still not healed!"_

_ "I won't let you die!" Star cried. "Kiba!"_

"Kiba!" Star shot up in her bed panting from her nightmare. Akamaru and Twilight put their paws on her bed as sound of thumping feet was heard out in the hall.

"Star!" Kiba threw the door open and rushed to her side.

"Kiba, I'm sorry." Star clung to his shirt.

"Another nightmare." Kiba stated as Star sobbed into his chest. "This is ridiculous. There's got to be some way to stop them."

"Hm." Tsunade studied the tired girl's face. "How long has she been having these nightmares?"

"Since our mission." Kiba replied.

"That means she's been dealing with them for a week now?" Shizune asked.

"Yes." Kiba nodded. Star was leaning against his side looking like she was about to pass out.

"She's about had it." Shizune said as Star's knees gave out on her. Kiba picked her up then looked at Tsunade. "If she doesn't get some sleep soon..."

"There might be away." Tsunade said. "Shizune, summon Inoichi."

"Inoichi? Yes, milady." Shizune nodded then left the room.

"Ino's dad? Do you think he can help?" Kiba asked.

"I think so. This might be some form of magic we're dealing with. You said that Star said that that beast was the one who attack her in the beginning, right?"

"Yes."

"Then it's possible that the beast has magic powers of his own and some how got to Star's mind when he attacked you all." Tsunade stood up and lead them out of her office. She lead them down to another room. Kiba looked around. It was one of the interrogation rooms.

"What's..." Kiba asked just as Inoichi and Shizune entered the room.

"You wanted to see me, milady?" Inoichi asked.

"Yes." Tsunade nodded then signaled for Shizune to leave. Tsunade then pointed to a chair. "Kiba, sit her here."

Kiba looked at her then over at Inoichi. He wasn't sure about this. Having Inoichi go into Star's mind would reveal her secrets to him. Tsunade placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "Kiba, this is the only way. We have to see what's going on inside her mind."

"Ok." Kiba said but was unsure as he sat Star in the chair. She took his hand as he pulled away.

"Inoichi." Tsunade said.

"Ma'am?"

"What you are going to see in there must never leave this room. Her life and people depend on us keeping her secrets."

"Understood."

"Then, let's began. Kiba?" Tsunade turned to Kiba. "Are you ok with this?"

"Yes." Kiba nodded then gave Star's hand a squeeze. "I'll be right here."

"Just relax. This isn't going to hurt." Inoichi said as he placed his fingers on her forehead. Inoichi entered into her mind and looked around.

There was a dark presence in her mind. He immediately knew that and started to look for it. He also noticed that her mind wasn't like others he had entered into. He was in an open field in her mind. It was dark at the moment, probably from the dark presence. There were several flowers but they were closed up. He stopped walking when he hear someone sobbing. He followed the sobs and found a little girl curled up by some small boulders.

Inoichi's eyes widened when he got close enough to tell who she was. It was Star, as a kid fairy. "I see. That's why Lady Tsunade..."

"W-Who are you?" Star asked with fear in her eyes and voice.

"It's ok, Star. I'm here to help you. My name is Inoichi." He replied softly.

"How...How do you know my name?" Star asked.

"Because you are a friend of my daughter's." Inoichi replied. "Ino?"

"Ino? I don't understand."

"Do you remember Kiba?"

"Kiba? Kiba? Where's Kiba?"

"It's ok. Kiba's really not inside your mind like I am."

"My mind?"

"Yes. Lady Tsunade summoned me to help clear up your nightmares."

"I remember." Inoichi smiled and offered the child his hand. She timidly took it and he helped her stand up.

"Now, can you tell me what's going on in here?" Inoichi looked back out at the field. Everything was starting to die.

"He's attacking my mind. Giving me nightmares and trying to destroy me."

"He?"

"The beast. He attacked me and the people I was traveling with, before Kiba found me. He attacked Kiba and his team during the mission we were on."

"I understand. Where is the beast now?"

"I don't know. He wants me to die."

"That's not going to happen." Inoichi placed his hand on the girl's head. He smiled at her. "I'll protect you now."

"Ok." Star nodded. Inoichi held her hand and the two began to walk. The dark presence the beast of giving off became more thick. Star was starting to feel the effects of him damaging her mind and her walking slowed down. Inoichi picked her up and put her on his shoulders.

The beast dropped down from the sky and roared at them. "That's it, huh?"

"Y-Yes." Star replied quietly. Inoichi sensed her fear as he sat her back down on the ground. He pulled out his kunai and stood in a fighting stance.

"You won't win." The beast hissed. "You are nothing but a pathetic human. I am a beast of magic."

"You'll be surprised what we _humans_ can do." Inoichi replied. The two charged at each other. The beast swiped a paw at him. Inoichi caught his kunai on the beast's claw. He was thrown back when beast put his full power into it. Inoichi landed beside Star.

"Inoichi!"

"I'm fine." He stood up and charged the beast again. Star watched at the ninja battled. Inoichi got some good hits on the beast but over all wasn't doing much good. Star noticed that the beast was faster than Inoichi but it wasn't as fast here as it was in the real world. The beast slashed Inoichi across the chest.

"Huh?" Kiba and Tsunade looked at Inoichi when slash marks appeared on his chest. "What's that?"

"Looks like Inoichi is in battle." Tsunade replied.

"Battle? Battling what?" Kiba asked. Neither knew.

"It's no good. He's not going to be able to stop this creature." Star spoke to herself. She bit her bottom lip._ But what can I do? I don't know how to stop this thing._ Star closed her eyes tight. _There has to be something I can do! Something!_ Star's eyes shot open when Inoichi cried out in pain. The beast had swiped his claws at the blonde ninja again and caught him on the arm. Inoichi's sleeve and blood flew away from his arm. "No!"

Star narrowed her eyes and stood up. Her power exploded from her body, as if she were on fire. Her body changed into the teenager she was. "I will not be afraid of you anymore!"

Kiba dropped Star's hand and backed away when her power flared up. "S-Star?"

"Is that her power?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah." Kiba nodded. "I've seen it before. She's fighting?"

"Looks like it." Tsunade replied. The two continued to watch Star.

"Inoichi!" Star landed beside him. He leaned on his elbows and looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Think you can attack him again?" Star asked, not taking her eyes off the beast.

"I think so."

"Good."

"You have plan?" She smiled at him.

"No. Not really."

"Hn. My kind of battle strategy." Inoichi stood up. He charged forward again. Star fired her energy at him and engulfed the man in her power. Inoichi gave the glow around his body a questionable look before looking back up, giving his complete trust to Star.

He jumped at the beast and slashed at it with his kunai. Star mimicking Inoichi's move and swiped her hand as if she was holding a kunai as well. Inoichi's kunai made contact with the beast and slit open it's skin. Blood, dark green in color, spilled out onto the ground then fizzled out like a candle. Inoichi's eyes widened at the sight. "What the...?"

"Jump!" Star cried. Both Star and Inoichi jumped, avoiding a swipe from the beast's claw. They threw the kunai at the beast and it hit right in the monster's chest.

"AH!" The beast cried out.

"Yes!" Star cried as Inoichi jumped away from the beast and landed sum feet in front of her. He glanced back at her. _This is very similar to Shikaku's shadow possession technique. The only difference is we're not connected by shadows, meaning we both have the ability to move freely and make an attack of our own. She's combining her powers to me and my kunai so I can make solid and effective attacks on this beast. How powerful is she?_

"This isn't over! I will not be defeated in the end!" The beast roared. "I am just a mirror image. Planted in your mind to cause you pain. The real beast will not go down so easily."

"I don't care! I'm not afraid of you any more! With Kiba, my friends and the rest of this village standing at my side I will face you and take you down! I will regain my memories and stop you from hurting anyone else!" Star declared with her princess tone. Inoichi smiled. "Inoichi!"

"Ma'am?"

"Time to finish this nightmare!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Inoichi nodded and pulled out several shuriken and threw them at the beast. Star's powers engulfed the shuriken as they flew through the air. They struck the beast. It cried out in pain and fury before completely disappearing. The two watched as the beast disappeared and Star's mind turned back into the peaceful beautiful field it really was. "So, does all of your kinds minds look like this?"

"As far as I know they do. We are very tuned in with nature. Inoichi?"

"Yes, Lady Star?" The two looked at each other. Inoichi smiled at the beautiful fairy standing before him. Her normal clothes were replaced with her princess outfit. Her eyes asking the unvoiced question. "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me."

Star opened her eyes to see Kiba's worried face. "Kiba."

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yes." Star looked at Inoichi. "Thanks, Inoichi. And I'm sorry you got injured."

"These wounds? They're nothing. It was my pleasure to help you, princess." Inoichi took her hand in his and kissed it.

"Kiba?" Star turned to the brown haired boy.

"Yes?"

"Let's go home. I need a really _long_ nap."

"Right." Kiba chuckled before picking her up and leaving.

"Let's get those wounds taken care of." Tsunade said. The two left the room and headed for the hospital. "I'm glad the mission was a success."

"Yes. This part of the mission went rather well considering I knew nothing about what I had to face in there." Inoichi replied.

"This part of the mission?" Tsunade looked at her ninja.

"That beast inside her mind was just a shadow of the real thing. It planted that creature in Lady Star's mind just to mess with her. To scare her."

"I see."

"The beast wasn't as strong as the real one. The real one Lady Star must one day face and battle until one of them is dead. She did really well with that dream beast but how will she do against the real one?"

"I think she'll be fine. Right now, she's safe inside the walls of our village. Many have already accepted her as a member of this village. Just about everyone here will protect her. Plus she has Kiba at her side at all times."

"Kiba...That's another thing I've been wondering about." The two stopped walking. Inoichi looked down at the ground. "When inside her mind I learn all about her, except for certain areas of her mind that have been block when she first encountered this beast."

"Inoichi?" Tsunade studied the look on his face. His face reveal something. Something that he didn't want to know. "What is it? What did you learn in there?"

"It's going to hurt Kiba when Lady Star has to leave the village, but that is going to be nothing compared to the pain Kiba will feel when he finds out about another secret Lady Star has been keeping from him."

"What secret is that?" Tsunade asked carefully. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know herself.

**Notes:** So? Here's chapter seven! Hope you like it! What do you think the secret is? Tune in for the next chapter where everything, including Star's missing memories, is revealed! Also, I didn't mean to make Star's powers so similar to Shikamaru's... **^.^'**... it just happened like that. But it seems to fit her, so it's all good **:D** We're almost done with this story! I'm excited! Hope you all are too! Keep up the reviews!

**Extra Notes:** Also, as you should know Akamaru is always with Kiba. I stopped saying he was with Kiba because it seems kinda pointless to say he's there when we all know Kiba and Akamaru are rarely seen apart. And it got annoy to keep saying stuff like 'Akamaru turned and left with him.' Akamaru followed his master out...' and so on.


	9. Secrets and Memories Revealed

Chapter Eight

Secrets and Memories Revealed

Kiba and Hinata sat watching as Star slowly ran after Akamaru and Twilight. They had just got done with training for the day and decided to hang out, except for Shino who had to go home and help his dad with something. "Star seems to be in better spirits these days."

"Yeah." Kiba nodded. "Defeating that beast in her mind seems to give her a confidence boost or something. I'm glad she's feeling better."

Hinata looked at her teammate. "It's nice that you two have such a close relationship with each other."

"Uh...I guess." Kiba glanced at Hinata with a slight blush on his cheeks. "It's nothing that special."

"Kiba." Hinata giggled. "You don't have to hide it from me. I can see how much you care about her."

"Uh...ah...well I..." Kiba scratched the back of his head.

"Hey, guys." Star giggled as she dropped down beside her friends. Twilight and Akamaru ambushed her with a bunch of licks and tail wags. "Will you guys stop? T-That tickles."

She pushed the two dogs away, scratched behind their ears before turning to look at Kiba. "Huh? Kiba, you're a little flushed. You feeling ok?"

"Uh huh." Kiba jumped and grabbed her hand when she tried to feel his forehead.

"Kiba?" Star blinked.

"He's just embarrassed I figured out you two have thing going on." Hinata replied with a giggled.

"Oh?" Star asked.

"Yeah." Hinata nodded. "But why keep it a secret?"

"Well...it's complicated." Kiba replied.

"Not really." Star leaned against Kiba's side. "Everyone always keep their first a secret. Oh my gosh!"

Star gasped and pulled away from Kiba.

"What? What is it?" Hinata and Kiba asked.

"I'm your first?" Star asked.

"Uh...well...I um..." Kiba blushed harder. The girls giggled.

"He's so cute when he's embarrassed!" Star said.

"I know. I've never seem him like this before." Hinata added.

"Will you two stop? I'm a ninja! It's not like I have a lot of spare time on my hands for dating!" Kiba crossed his arms. Akamaru barked and smirked at him. "Not you too! AH! Akamaru!"

"He's embarrassed!" Star and Hinata giggled as they poked Kiba in the cheeks.

"Oh! Come on!" Kiba pleaded.

"Ok, ok. We'll stop." Star said as she pulled away from him. Hinata pulled back and they settled down.

"How are your feet?" Kiba asked.

"A little numb from all that running but alright."

"You should stay off your feet for a while."

"Yes, nurse Kiba." Star chuckled.

"Ha, ha." Kiba leaned over and nuzzled his nose behind her ear. He stopped and blushed again when his stomach let out a loud growl. "Guess I'm hungry."

"I'm a bit hungry too." Hinata said as she stood up. Twilight start to jump around and bark in agreement.

"Twilight wants some lunch too." Star announced.

"I'm surprised at how well you can communicate with these dogs, Star." Hinata said as Kiba took Star's hand and they stood up.

"Uh..." Kiba twitched. Did Hinata know something?"

"Yeah, well when you spend a lot of time with animals you learn what they are saying." Star replied casually. "And I do have a lot of pets back home."

"Right." Hinata nodded with a smile then turned and took the lead back to the village. Kiba and Star let out a huge sigh when she was out of ear shot.

"That was close." Kiba said.

"Yeah." Star nodded. The two started walking after Hinata. Star stopped and turned around. She sensed a familiar power several miles away from the village. _They're early. I wonder why he's..._

"I forgot." Kiba' voice broke into Star's thoughts. He came over and swept her off her feet. "You need to stay off your feet for a while."

"Kiba." Star put her arms around his neck and held tight.

"Hm?" Kiba gave her a confusing look before walking on.

The small group ended up having ramen with Naruto and Lee. The group sat and chatted happily for about an hour before breaking off and heading in different directions. Kiba and Star rode on Akamaru. Twilight did too but she was perched happily on his head, occasionally barking as someone in the village. Star leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Kiba's back. "Kiba, thank you. For everything that you have done for me."

"Huh? What are you saying? You know I'd do anything for you." Kiba asked as they arrived at Kiba's house. He turned and looked at the new people standing in his yard and the carriage sitting just outside the yard. Most of them looked like soldiers, wielding staffs.

"Kiba." Tsume said as the two teens crawled off Akamaru. Star's bans fell over her eyes.

"Star!" A boy, their age, with short black hair and striking deep blue eyes, wearing clothes of nobility, ran over to Star. He grabbed her arms and pressed his lips to hers. Kiba glared at this boy and looked like he was about to rip his head off and give it to his dogs to play with. The boy broke the kiss and put his arms around her. "Star, I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're alright. You scared me so much."

"Ahem! Excuse me? Who are you and why are you hugging Star?" Kiba cleared his throat and placed his hands on his hips.

"I am Lancer. I am Star's fiancee." Lancer replied.

"Ha, ha,ha! Fiancee? Yeah right!" Kiba laughed then noticed Star refusing to look at anyone. Her hair was still over her eyes. "Star, who is this guy? He's not really your fiancee, is he?"

Star clenched her fists. Kiba narrowed his eyebrows then grabbed her shoulders. "Why won't you answer me? Tell me this guy isn't your fiancee!"

Lancer slapped Kiba's hands off Star's shoulders. "Do not touch her! Do you realized who you are touching with your filthy human hands?"

"Don't talk to me! I know more about Star than you think!" Kiba glared at Lancer.

"I see." Lancer replied calmly while looking at Star. "You've revealed a serious secret to this boy. I hope you used your best judgement in doing so."

"Kiba!" Kiba looked at his mom. She shook her head.

"Star?" Kiba turned back to Star.

"We really need to be going. It's important that we return home as soon as possible." Lancer said. "Say your goodbyes and let's get going."

Star passed by the boys. Kiba tossed one last glare at Lancer then followed after Star, with Twilight and Akamaru in toe. Kiba stood several feet away from Star when she stopped walking. They remained quiet for several minutes. "Why? Why didn't you tell me? I thought that we..."

"Take care of Twilight, Kiba. It's forbidden for anyone to bring home anything or _anyone_ that is not an original inhabitant of the Island Kingdom of Stars."

"Uh..." Kiba felt like a kunai had plunged into his heart. His whole body started to shake with fury and he closed his eyes. "Why? Why? You knew...that we couldn't be together...and still you...you let me think that..."

Star turned around and started walking back, eyes still covered. She whispered as she walked passed Kiba. "My love for you is real. That I would never fake. I'm sorry I hurt you."

Kiba clenched his fists as tears threatened to fall. _No. I can't. Star..._ Kiba whipped around and ran after her. He caught up with her as she returned to the house. He reached for her. "Star!"

Two of the soldiers crossed their staffs, keeping Kiba away from their princess. Kiba tried to get through but they were stronger than they looked. "Star, look at me! Star! Will you just look at me?"

"Come, princess." Lancer said as he held the door to the carriage open. Star paused at the door as Kiba's voice ran through her entire body. She bit her bottom lip and climbed in. Lancer flashed one last glare at Kiba before climbing in himself, followed by two of the soldiers, one with light brown hair the other with black.

"Star!" Kiba cried out again. The soldiers let him go and he dropped to his knees. Akamaru whined, he understood what happened. Twilight just barked happily and ran after Star. Kiba's hand shot out and he grabbed her so hard it made her yip.

"Kiba!" Hana yelled.

"Shut up!" Kiba snapped.

"You little..." Hana was stopped by there mom. She looked at her. Tsume shook her head. Hana nodded and they went back inside the house.

"Sorry, Twilight." Kiba whispered as he hugged the little puppy. "Sorry."

"Sorry, Kiba. Sorry." Star whispered as she leaned against the wall of the carriage. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Don't waste your tears on that pathetic human, princess. He's not worth it." Lancer said with venom in his voice.

"Do not speak about Kiba like that!" Star hissed.

"P-Princess?" Lancer stuttered.

"Kiba has done a lot for me! I will not allow you to speak of him in such a way!" Star glared at him with tear stained eyes. "You will never know what Kiba means to me!"

"Sorry." Lancer replied then looked out the window.

Star leaned back against the wall of the carriage and closed her eyes. _I don't want to go home. I want to stay with Kiba. It's not fair. I know I have my duties to my kingdom but...How am I suppose to take care of my people when my own heart is hurting? Why did they have to come so early? I should have had another week or two before Talon and Blaze came for me._ Star looked over at the two soldiers riding with her. They were sitting quietly. Star wondered why they were being so quiet. She was going to ask them about it when sleep rushed over her and she could keep her eyes open.

Star's dreams were filled with memories of her home. At first she was a little kid, she was happily running around her island, picking flowers and greeting other fairies on her island. _"Good afternoon, princess."_

_ "Afternoon! It's good to see you all!" Kid Star cheered as she waved the flowers in her hand._

_ "The flowers are lovely this year." Another fairy said._

_ "Yes. They are." Star smiled. "See you later!"_

_ "Bye." The fairies waved to her._

_ Star's dreams skipped forward to the time she first meet Lancer and it was announced she was going to marry him. He smiled sweetly at her and kissed her hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, my princess."_

_ My princess? _Star thought._ Kiba said the same thing. It sent shivers down my back when Kiba said that._ Star stood in an empty dark place in her dreams. _He's done so much for me. Why couldn't I have just told him about Lancer? Why didn't I tell him? I hurt him so bad. I know I did. I didn't have too look at Kiba to know how bad he was hurting._

Star's empty dark place cleared up into a forest. _What is this? This isn't home or the forest near the Leaf Village. Wait...I know this place._ Star's memories came flooding back to her. _This is it! This is where the beast attacked us. Us...who was I with? Talon and Blaze!_ Star watched as Talon and Blaze battled with the beast. The beast knocked them away then turned to Star. Star looked at her dream or memory self as the scent of lavender enter her nose. _That's right. I battle this beast too. But who is..._ Star jerked when the beast turned to her and sliced its large claw at her.

Star jerked awaked and gasped. Lancer looked at her. "You alright, princess?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a dream." Star sighed and leaned back in her seat. She looked at Talon, who was sitting by her side, then over at Blaze, who was sitting across from her. "Talon? Blaze?"

They looked up at her but didn't say a word. She proceed to speak a secret code to them. "Litchi Litchi."

They just looked at her. Blaze, the black haired one spoke. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Star shook her head. "I just want to be home."

"Don't worry, princess." Talon, the light brown haired guy, said. "We'll be home before you know it."

"Star, is something wrong?" Lancer asked.

"No. Nothing is wrong." Star replied as she looked back out the window. She smelt lavender again. _Man, that smell is really getting annoying! First I smell it on that stupid beast and now in..._ Star's eyes widened. She quickly covered her shock up and twitched her foot, like she had a rock in it, then bent down. She took off her shoe to shake out the imaginary rock. She replaced her shoe and raised up. As she raised up she grabbed the door handle, shoved it open and jumped out.

"Star! Hey! What are you doing? Stop, driver!" Lancer ordered.

Star snapped out her wings and landed on the ground. She slid to a stop and looked up. Lancer jumped out of the carriage. "Star! What are you doing? Are you crazy? You could have hurt yourself!"

Star gathered her energy into a ball and fired it at him. "Stay back!"

"What are you doing?" Lancer demanded.

"Lavender." Star said.

"Lavender." Kiba grumbled as he stalked through the village. He had his hands in his pockets and Akamaru tailed a fair distance behind him. "I don't care anymore! She can just go back to her stupid little island!"

"Kiba! Good afternoon!" Lee greeted cheerfully.

"Great. I had to run into the most cheerful person in the village feeling like this." Kiba mumbled.

"Hey, where is Star?" Lee asked when he noted the missing girl.

"Don't say that name!" Kiba screamed.

"Sorry. Did you two get into a fight or something?" Lee asked, completely confused by Kiba's actions.

"Fight. I'd like to get into a fight with that stupid son of a blank! Who does he think he is? Coming in here like that? Why should I even care? She can leave! Just leave!" Kiba rambled.

"What are you rambling about?" Lee asked.

"She's gone, ok?"

"Gone? Star left?"

"That's right!"

"Why would she leave without saying goodbye to us?"

"Who cares? She left with her stupid fiancee!"

"Fiancee? Star is engaged?"

"What's with all the yelling?" Shikamaru asked as he and Chouji walked up to the two yelling teens.

"Star is gone. She went home." Lee replied.

"Star's gone?" Chouji asked.

"Without saying goodbye?" Shikamaru added and Lee nodded.

"And apparently she is engaged." Lee said.

"Engaged?" Shikamaru and Chouji said, Chouji almost choking on his chips. They looked at Kiba, who had sunk down to the ground and was sulking more. Akamaru whined and looked at them.

"Stupid! Why was I so stupid? And why do I keep smelling lavender?" Kiba growl and jerked his head around, looking for the source of the foul smell.

"Sorry about the lavender scent." Chouji scratched his head in embarrassment. "My mother changed shampoos. Now I walk around smelling like flowers all day."

"Why does lavender bother you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because that stupid fiancee of Star's smells of lavender! And to that fact, so did that stupid bea..." Kiba stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened in shock when he finally put it all together. "Oh no."

"What is it, Kiba?" Lee asked. Kiba shot to his feet, fear present in his eyes and bolted for the gates of the Leaf. Shikamaru was the only one who caught the fear in Kiba's eyes.

"Let's go, Chouji! Lee!" Shikamaru ordered and the three took off after Kiba and Akamaru.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.

"Something's wrong and I think it has to do with Star." Shikamaru replied.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure." The three, somehow, caught up with Kiba. "Kiba, is Star in danger?"

"Yes! I should have see it before!" Kiba screamed.

"Seen what?" Lee asked.

"The beast and Star's fiancee both smell of lavender!" Kiba replied.

"You mean that..." Shikamaru started.

"Yes!" Kiba nodded. "_He's_ the beast! _HE_ attacked her!"

"We must hurry!" Lee said.

"How long ago did she leave?" Chouji asked.

"About two hours!" Kiba replied. "If he hurts her I sweat I'll kill him!"

"Should we get the others?" Lee asked.

"There's no time!" Kiba growled.

"Kiba, you, Shino and Hinata couldn't take this beast down before. We're going to need everyone's help." Shikamaru said.

"I'm not going to stop and look for everyone!" Kiba looked back at Shikamaru with the look of dead in his eyes.

"Relax, Kiba. We're not all going to round everyone up. You, me and Chouji will continue after Star while Lee rounds the others up." Shikamaru said. "Lee?"

"I understand." Lee nodded.

"Shouldn't Lee go with you? He is faster than all of us." Chouji questioned.

"That is why he needs to be the one to get everyone." Shikamaru explained. "We're going to need your strength when we catch up to Star."

"Right." Chouji nodded.

"Get as many of us as you can, Lee." Shikamaru ordered.

"Right. Get to Star as quick as you can. Do not let her get hurt again." Lee nodded again then leaped away from them.

"You can count on it." Kiba declared as the three continued racing out of the village.


	10. Beast vs Beast

Chapter Nine

Beast vs. Beast

"Come on, Star." Lancer said, taking a step closer to her. "Get back in the carriage."

"Stay back!" Star warned as she fired another shot at him. "It was you. You're the beast."

"That's silly. Why would I attack the one I love?" Lancer asked. He took another step forward. "Will you stop talking nonsense and get back in the carriage?"

"I'm warning you." Star repeated. "I know it was you. You stole the crystal bell that I was to return to the Kingdom of Crystal Time. You plan to betray my kingdom."

Lancer frowned and began to glow a light purple color. Star remained calm as she began to glow as well. "Where's the crystal bell? Where have you been all this time? We both took serious damage in our last battled but you have stronger healing abilities even when we are away from our island. Why didn't you come after me and finish me?"

"That, princess, you will never know!" Lancer formed a sword with his energy and charged at Star. Star created several stars, like shuriken, and fired them at her. Lancer knocked them away with his sword. "No good! You can't defeat me with such weak attacks!"

Star jumped away just seconds before Lancer swiped his sword at her. She snapped out her wings and remained in the air. She began to spin around until she became a tornado of power then flew down at him. Lancer ditched his sword to form a shield. Star slammed into the shield with more force than he expected. "What?"

"Take this!" Star screamed. Lancer looked to his right just to get a fist in the face. Lancer flew several feet before stopping. He lifted himself up and looked at her. The tornado disappeared.

"I see you've learned a new trick." Lancer said as he stood up. The two locked into an exchange of energy blasts. They released a blast at the same time that sent both of them flying away from each other. Star dropped to one knee as Lancer was hardly effected by this battle. "Too bad it won't do you any good. I can clearly see that you aren't full healed from our last battle."

_He's right. That was just one major attack and I feel like I've already exhausted all of my power. I won't be able to fight him for much longer. _Star panted as she tried to hide how tired she really was.

"Prepare to die!" Lancer gathered his energy into his right fist and charged again. Star stood ready to block the attack but at the last second Lancer formed the energy into a sharp point. Star saw it and tried to dodge it. She still caught the blade in her stomach, right side, but managed to dodge at the right second so it wasn't a fatal hit.

Star formed a staff weapon of her own and swung it at him. Lancer dodged it, pulling out his sword. Star dropped to her feet and grabbed her side. Blood was pouring through the opening in her stomach. "Crap."

"This is goodbye, Princess Star of the Island Kingdom of Stars!" Lancer raced forward again, putting all of his power into his fist. Star held up her arms to defend. His fist collided on her arms. She was able to hold her ground for a few seconds before he broke through her defense and sent her flying.

"Naruto! Sakura!" Lee cried as he jumped down from the rooftops and landed in front of them.

"Lee?" Sakura looked at the out of breath green ninja.

"What's up, Bushy Brow?" Naruto asked casually.

"Star is in trouble!" Lee shouted.

"What? What do you mean?" Naruto and Sakura asked.

"There is no time to explain. Star left the village but she is in danger. We must get the others and hurry. Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji went on ahead." Lee quickly explained.

"Right! I'll get Kakashi sensei!" Naruto said as he jumped away from them. "And anyone else I see!"

"I'll go get Ino and Lady Tsunade, they're both at the hospital!" Sakura said. "Lee, Neji and Tenten were heading for the training ground a little while ago!"

"Right." Lee nodded and the two split up.

Sakura got to the hospital just as Tsunade and Ino were coming out of it. "Star's in trouble!"

"What?" They asked.

"There's no time to explain! We have to get going, now!"

"Right!" Ino said and they turned to leave.

"Wait!"Tsunade ordered.

"What?"

"You two go on ahead."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"We might need Inoichi's help." Tsunade said then she disappeared.

"Why would we need your dad's help?" Sakura asked.

"Don't know. Never mind that. Let's get going" The two girls turned and left.

Star tried to slow herself down but she was to weak. She felt herself loosing consciousness from the loss of blood and the lack of power. She closed her eyes as she prepared herself to slam into the solid trunk of a tree or the ground. Suddenly she stopped flying backwards and felt her body press firmly into something soft. "I gotcha!"

"Huh?" Star opened her eyes to the familiar voice. She was set firmly in Chouji's expanded belly. "Chouji?"

He smiled at her as someone else grabbed her just before he shrunk back down to normal size. Star looked to the one holding her now, it was Kiba. Only he wasn't looking at her. He was giving Lancer a cold glare of death and hatred. "K-Kiba..."

"That's him, huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"W-What are you all doing here?" Star asked.

"Kiba figured out it was him that attacked you." Chouji answered.

"But...how?"

"Lavender. I couldn't get the scent of lavender out of my nose." Kiba replied.

"Kiba...I uh..." Star flinched at the pain in her stomach. She looked down at her wound. Kiba had his hand over it, trying to stop the bleeding, even though he wasn't looking at her. Akamaru sniffed the wound and whined. Star placed her hand over his. "Kiba."

"Don't worry, Star. You did fine. I'll take it from here." Kiba said in a low voice.

"We'll see about that!" Lancer said as he charged forward. Shikamaru kneeled down and had his shadow move over to him. Lancer saw it and flew into the sky. "What the heck is that?"

"What? Does he have wings?" Chouji asks.

"Wings? Then...that means that..." Shikamaru looked at Star.

"Chouji, Shikamaru, take care of Star." Kiba said as he gently handed Star to Chouji. Kiba stood up. "And if either of you tell another soul about her...I'll _kill_ you."

"Uh...Kiba?" Chouji asked.

"It's alright, Chouji." Shikamaru nodded at his best friend. "Don't worry, Kiba. Star's secret is safe with us."

"You can't take him alone!" Chouji said.

"Stay out of this!" Kiba snapped. "I'm taking this guy down!"

"Hm." Lancer landed back on the ground and looked at them. "Bring it on then."

"You're going to regret hurting Star." Kiba glared as he cracked his knuckles. Kiba and Akamaru charged at Lancer. They locked into a hand to hand combat at first. Lancer saw that Kiba had the upper hand in this type of battle and used his powers to give a more level playing field.

"You're not bad, human." Lancer smirked.

"Shut up!" Kiba snapped.

"What's the matter, human? I was just complementing you."

"I don't need your complements!"

"What's your point in battling with me? You won't win."

"I battle to protect Star and I will win!"

"Why battle so hard for a girl who you can _never_ have a relationship with?"

"Hn." Kiba narrowed his eye brows and swung at Lancer's head as Akamaru tried to bit him. Lancer easily dodge both attacks.

"You know I speak the truth. I know she told you that your relationship with each other can never really be. She'll die by my hands!"

"Shut up!"

"Even, if somehow, you do defeat me, you can't be with her. It's forbidden for a human to have a relationship with a fairy."

"Shut up!" Kiba made a quick jab with his fist right into Lancer's stomach then clocked him in the face, sending him flying. "I battle to protect her. Because I love her."

"Alright, Kiba! That's showing him who's top dog!" Chouji cheered.

"I'm surprised at how well Kiba is holding his temper. He might actually win this." Shikamaru added.

"No. Lancer is just playing with him." The two looked at Star. "Lancer has powers of a fairy and he's the beast that attacked me in the first place. He's hiding his power."

"You're stronger than I thought." Lancer said as he sat up. "But it seems you have forgotten one thing."

"Tsk! And what's that?"

"That I'm the beast that you battle with before!" Lancer said as his eyes changed. His skin began to grow fur, his nails got longer and his size increase as he transformed into the beast. This gave Lancer the upper hand against Kiba. Now all Kiba could do was dodge his attacks.

"Kiba!" Naruto cried as the rest of their friends, including all their sensei, came running up to the battle scene.

"Star!" Sakura kneeled down beside Star and proceeded to heal her wound.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked.

"I'm fine." Star gave them a weak smile. Lee gave her a concerned look. She reached out patted his face. "Don't worry."

"Hold on, Kiba! We are coming!" Lee announced as he stood back up. He joined Naruto's side and the two charge in. Shikamaru stopped them with his shadows.

"What is this? Let go, Shikamaru!" Naruto demanded.

"No. This is Kiba's battle." Shikamaru replied.

"What? That's crazy!" Tenten said.

"Kiba can't fight this thing on his own. It took us three down easily before." Hinata said.

"If we interfere with this fight then Kiba would turn on us. We all know that Kiba is fiercely loyal to his friends. And he holds a special bond with Star." Neji explained.

"We probably wouldn't do much good even if we did jump in." Shino added. "Hinata, don't you remember our battle with this creature before? We didn't get one single hit on it."

"But how is Kiba going to stop him?" Hinata asked.

"There has to be some other way of defeating this creature." Shikamaru said.

"But how?" Chouji asked.

"Star is the key to defeating this beast." The group turned to see Inoichi and Tsunade.

"Dad?"

"But I haven't done any good against..." Star said.

"Remember our battle?" Inoichi asked.

"Battle?" Ino asked. "What battle?"

"Did your dad fight with Star?" Sakura asked, still healing Star, and Ino just shrugged.

"It is true that you have done no good in battling this beast on you own individual powers but when you and Inoichi fought..." Tsunade's voice trailed off.

"That one wasn't as strong." Star whispered.

"You can do it. I know you can." Inoichi kneeled down and placed a fatherly hand on Star's shoulder. "With your powers combined with Kiba's strength as a beast master himself..."

"Beast verses beast?" Chouji asked.

"It's the best shot we have." Shikamaru said.

"Why are you people whispering? Kiba needs help! We can't just stand around doing nothing!" Naruto whined.

"Knock it off, Naruto! This battle belongs to Kiba!" Tsunade ordered. Naruto pouted but was free of Shikamaru's hold.

"Star?" Sakura asked as Star began to sit up. "You're still wounded. Hold still and so I can..."

"No. I have to help Kiba." Star struggled to get up. She got about halfway before loosing strength and began to fall back down. Two strong hands grabbed her from behind. She looked over her shoulder. "Chouji?"

He smiled and nodded at her. She smiled and nodded back at him. He helped her to her feet. She caught her balanced and walked towards the battle. The others stayed back with looks of concern. She only walked a few feet away from them before sitting back down on the ground. She sat cross legged, with her hands in her lap and closed her eyes.

"Crap!" Kiba cursed as he barely dodged another attack.

"I tried to tell you that you wouldn't be able to win!" Lancer hissed in a deeper more sinister voice. Lancer took another swipe at Kiba, catching him this time on the arm. Kiba's body spun around until he hit the ground. Akamaru jumped in front of him and gave a warning bark. "Die!"

"Akamaru!" Kiba cried as the beast batted his dog away with ease. Akamaru yipped in pain when his body collided with a tree. Lancer wiped again at Kiba. Kiba held up his arms to block. He lowered his arms when the attack never happened.

"What?" Lancer pressed on the glow surrounding Kiba. "This is..."

Both Lancer and Kiba looked over at Star. She was glowing brightly, behind her several of the on looking ninja had seriously confused looks on their faces. Kakashi studied the glowing girl carefully then looked over at Tsunade. Tsunade sensed him looking at her and gave him a warning glance. He nodded then looked back to the battle.

"Star, what are you doing? You're hurt! Don't do this."

"It's ok, Kiba." Star spoke as if she was sitting right beside him. "Don't worry. You can't defeat him on your own. If I combine my powers with you then you can face him on a more level field. You are a beast master. It's time to tame this beast."

"But Akamaru..."

"Is just fine. I was able to surround him with my powers just before Lancer hit him." Kiba turned to see Akamaru was on his paws and shaking his head. "Kiba, I trust you will my life. Trust me with yours and together we'll defeat him."

"I do trust you, Star. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"Don't worry, Kiba. Everything will be just fine."

"Alright."

"It won't do you any good. You aren't a wild beast anymore if you have been tamed by a woman." Lancer smirked. "I'll win this."

Kiba made a swift move and punched Lancer on the jaw. Shock appeared on his beast face. He was totally caught off guard at how fast Kiba was now. "B-But how?"

Kiba grabbed Lancer by his furry neck. "Sometimes...being tamed by a woman can give you incredible strength because you want to protect her."

Kiba kicked Lancer in the stomach. Lancer coughed out blood before collapsing to the ground. "Akamaru! Let's go! Fang over Fang!"

Akamaru barked and joined Kiba's side. Akamaru transformed and the two proceeded to attack Lancer. They constantly hit him until Lancer collapsed to the ground and turned back into his fairy self.

"Yes!" Naruto and Lee jumped up and down. "They did it!"

Kiba and Akamaru stopped spinning around. Kiba took several deep breaths before walking over to Lancer, with a kunai in hand. Kiba grabbed Lancer by the front of the shirt. "It's over. Now...DIE!"

Kiba swung the kunai towards Lancer's heart. He about plunged it into his chest when Star's power snapped out and wrapped around Kiba's hand, stopping him. "KIBA STOP!"

"Why did you stop him?" Naruto asked.

"Don't kill him!" Star cried.

"What?" Kiba looked at her.

"Do it. You said you were going to kill me." Lancer smirked.

"Kiba, don't kill him." Star stood up and began to walk over to them.

"But Star..."

"Don't kill him. If you do my people will destroy you. His family, my people will all seek revenge." Star dropped back down to the ground in pain. Chouji and Shikamaru rushed over to her. Chouji picked her up and propped her against himself. "It's over. Let it go. Just let it go. Please, don't do it."

"Right. I understand." Kiba said as he dropped Lancer and put his kunai up. He then turned and walked over to Star, who had passed out. Kiba placed his hand on her head and smiled before passing out himself.

"Just like Kiba to battle until he passes out." Naruto said.

"You're one to talk." Sakura smirked at Naruto.

As the group gathered around Star and Kiba, Lancer was trying to make an escape. Akamaru barked and Naruto, Lee, Sakura and Ino jumped over to him and proceeded to kick and punch him, while shouting improper threats.

"We better stop them before they _do_ kill him." Kakashi said. Guy nodded as them two and Asuma went over to pull their students off the fairy.

"She did it." Inoichi said.

"They did it." Tsunade corrected.

"They made a good team, don't they?" Inoichi asked. Tsunade nodded before walking over to her passed out kids and checking out their battle wounds. Neither of them had life threatening wounds. She ordered for them to be taken back to the hospital so they could be bandaged up. The sensei took Lancer into custody and he was take to the prisons of the Leaf to be held there.

**Notes: **Dang! This chapter was harder than I thought it was going to be. Well hope you like it anyway. See ya next time!


	11. To Love Forever

**Warning! Serious sadness ahead! Beware!**

**Disclaimer: I **_**DO NOT**_** own Naruto or Forever Love by Reba McEntire! They both belong to their rightful owners! **

** And sorry if you don't like country music. I do and really love this song and it fits into this chapter. Just skip the lyrics if you want. But if you do like country music or a love song listen to this song while reading the chapter. Very sad T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T.T**

Chapter Ten

To Love Forever

Kiba gasped and shot up in bed. He panted as he looked around his room. Star sat up beside him. He through his arms around her and held her close. "Star, you're ok. You're ok. I thought you were...Lancer...he...kill you...and..."

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Star put her arms around his waist and rubbed his back. "It's ok."

"No. You were...I saw you..."

"Shh, shh." Star pulled away from him so she could place her fingers over his lips to silence him. She then cupped his face in her hand and engulfed him in her powers. She pushed his nightmares and Lancer power out of his mind. "It's over, Kiba. He can't hurt us anymore. He's just messing with your mind."

"What happened?" Kiba asked as confusion sat in his eyes.

"We stopped him." Star placed a light kiss on his lips. "He's under constant guard now. After the battle we were brought back to the village. Lady Tsunade had our wounds bandaged up and let us go home since we didn't have life threatening injuries."

Star brushed her thumbs on his cheeks as his confusion cleared up. He placed his hands over hers and sighed. He leaned forward and kissed her. She brushed her thumbs on his skin again before pulling away. "Come now. Lay back down."

Kiba did as she told him and laid back down, pulling her to his chest. Star winced at the pain in her stomach. "You ok?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry." She smiled at him through his moonlit room. Kiba tightened his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair, becoming intoxicated by her vanilla scent as he drifted off to sleep.

**The first time I laid my eyes on you I knew**

**We'd spend this life side by side**

**I still feel the same though you're so far away**

**I swear that you'll always be mine**

Kiba held Star's hand as they walked through the halls of the interrogation building. Akamaru and Twilight were tagging along at a slower pace. They meet up with Tsunade and Inoichi in the room where Lancer was being interrogated.

"Lady Star, you shouldn't be in here." Inoichi said with concern.

"It's alright, Inoichi. Did you find anything out?" Star asked.

"No." Tsunade replied.

"I didn't think you would. A fairy can easily hid information from an outsi...a non-fairy." Star said as she glanced over at Lancer.

"What should we do now?" Inoichi asked. Tsunade looked at Star.

"Keep him under constant guard. I'll place a magic bond around him so he won't be able to use his powers against you." Star replied.

"What then?" Tsunade asked.

"We wait. My guards should be arriving at the village soon." Kiba's hold on her hand got tighter. "We'll take him back to my kingdom then. Our ways of interrogation are different from yours. We should be able to get him to tell us where the crystal bell is."

Lancer began to chuckle. Kiba put his arm around Star and held her close. "You won't get anything, princess. You won't even get to be with the mutt you lo...uh..."

"Shut up!" Inoichi yelled as he knocked Lancer out. He then looked back up at Kiba and Star. "You should leave. I don't want you anywhere near this trash."

**Forever love**

**I promise you**

**Someday we'll be together**

**Forever love**

The two teens nodded and turned to leave with their dogs. Star gave Lancer as sad, almost regretful, look before being lead out of the room by Kiba. Kiba looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Star, we should talk about you..."

"Let's have a party!" Star suddenly smiled brightly at him.

"A party?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah! We need to celebrate!" Star released his hand. She jumped in front of him with a bright smile on her face and was walking backwards. "The entire village! Food! Music! Dancing! Everything!"

"Well, I guess. But a party like that takes time to get ready."

"Maybe...under normal circumstances." Star beamed at him before turning around. He reached and pulled her into his arms.

"What have you been up to?" She looked at him and smiled again. The four exited the building only to get ambushed by some of their friends. Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Tenten grabbed Star from Kiba and took off with her.

"Hey! What are you girls doing?" Kiba demanded and was about to charged after them but was grabbed by Naruto, Lee, Chouji, Shikamaru and Guy and dragged off in the opposite directions. "What are you people doing?"

Kiba kicked and demanded to be released. They didn't release him until they entered into someone's house. Inside Shino, Neji and Kakashi were standing there, with smiles on their faces. Kiba blinked at them. "What's going on?"

Kiba got worried as they all advanced on him and pulled out several brushes, wash cloths and other cleaning items.

**I won't give up **

**No matter what**

**I'll be waiting for you**

**Forever love**

"Uh..." A new cleaned and dressed, in a newly bought dark blue simply kimono, Kiba stood and stared out at his festival decorated village. There were several booths set up, some for food others games and music was playing through the entire village. Everyone, including those who ambushed him, were dressed in kimonos for this festival. "What's going on?"

"Star set this up." Neji replied.

"She did? When?" Kiba asked.

"When you were still knocked out from your battle. Star woke up when we were at the hospital. She arranged it with Lady Tsunade." Kakashi answered.

"Hey, hey! There the girls!" Naruto screamed and pointed to the kimono dressed female teammates walking towards them. The girls, concealing Star from Kiba's view, walked up to them.

"So beautiful! You all embody the spirit of youth in your beautiful kimonos!" Lee danced around.

"Star?" Kiba asked. The girls smiled and stepped aside to reveal Star. She was wearing a dark blue kimono with stars trailing all over it, her hair was curled and pulled back by a gold clip, some curls were left hanging down to frame her face and there was a light trace of makeup, done by Kurenai, to highlight her natural beauty. Kiba blushed at the sight of her.

"Ahem." Kakashi cleared his throat as he walked behind Kiba and gave him a casual shove. That got Kiba's feet moving and he walked over to Star.

"Hi." Kiba said, as he lost the words to speak.

"Hi." Star reached out her hand for him to take. He did and the two began to walk through the village.

**Minutes and hours and years may go by**

**But my heart knows nothing of time**

**So don't cry, just keep me right there**

**In your dreams**

**And hold on to these words of mine**

They enjoyed the festival together and occasionally ran into some of their friends. The most fun was when they ran into Naruto and Sakura. Somehow, Sakura got Naruto into a dunking booth and just about the entire village had lined up to dunk the blonde haired boy. Naruto screamed and kicked as they all grabbed a ball and threw them at Naruto. Naruto sighed as no one hit the target. Suddenly he dropped into the cold water. "T-T-T-That's cold! Who threw that?"

"That would have been me." Star laughed as she tosses another ball up in down in her hand.

"Star, I thought we were friends." Naruto cried as he hung to the side of the tub, this only made everyone laugh harder.

"That's my girl!" Kiba said as he put his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.

**Forever love**

**I promise you**

**Someday we'll be together**

**Forever love**

**I won't give up **

**No matter what**

**I'll be waiting for you**

**Forever love**

Star took his hands in hers and pulled him to where some of the villagers were dancing. Kiba gave her an oh no look. She just smiled at him and started dancing anyway. Kiba tried to dance with her but wasn't skilled in that area. But he was having fun anyway. He was with Star. Everyone stopped when the song ended and a slow one began.

"I'm uh not very good at this." Kiba said as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's ok. You're with me." Star took his hands and placed them on her hips then put her arms around around his neck. Star lead him as they began to sway to the music.

"Star, can we talk about you leav..." Star pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his, silencing him again. She broke the kiss and laid her head on his shoulder. Kiba sighed. She was purposely avoiding talking to him about her leaving the village soon.

Star tightened her hold on him. _I'm sorry, Kiba. I don't want to think about it. I can sense their powers. They've known where I've been since our battle with Lancer. They'll be here in a few days. I just want to be with you, Kiba. I don't want to think about going home. I just want you. I just want to be with you._

Kiba tightened his hold on her as if he sensed what she was thinking. He know was in the lead. The two swayed to the music as did other members of the village. "I love you, Kiba."

"I love you too, my princess."

**Love is the road to our destiny**

**Nothing can change what is meant to be**

**Forever love**

Star sat curled up, in Kiba's arms, on the couch. Twilight was on her lap as Akamaru was on the floor. Hana smiled at the two teens as she passed by them. Star shifted and opened her eyes. "They're here."

The two teens stood up off the couch and stepped outside on the porch. The real Blaze and Talon stepped out of the carriage. They looked at her. Star released her hold on Kiba's hand and ran over to them. She jumped into their open arms and hugged them. Talon was the first to speak. "Are you alright? We felt your battle and..."

"I'm fine." Star replied as she pulled away from them. Kiba walked up to them. They, or more Talon, gave their thanks for taking care of their princess. They pushed for leaving right away but Star was able to convince them to stay one more night so they could rest.

Star was able to sneak into Kiba's roof for the night but was forced to separate from each other before Talon and Blaze woke up. Clouds filled the sky the next day. Star lead her guards to the prison where Lancer was being held. They bound him with magic shackles. Star was greeted by all of her friends as they headed to the gates of the Leaf.

Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Lee were crying, Lee very hysterically, while others managed to hold their emotions better as Star hugged them and said goodbye. Inoichi was there as well and gave her a hug. "Good luck, milady."

"Thank you. For everything." Inoichi cupped her face and smiled before she turned and looked at Kiba. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck.

"Thank you so much for everything."

"Star, I..."

"It's ok, Kiba. Behave yourself, you hear me? Everything will be fine."

"But Star..."

"I love you, Kiba. I always will." Star kissed his cheek then ran over to her carriage. She took one last look at her friends before climbing inside, followed by Talon and Blaze.

Kiba's heart pounded as he raced after the carriage. "Star!"

Kiba dropped down to the ground. Tears stung his eyes as they forced themselves out. His friends walked over to him. Hinata kneed down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder as Shino kneeled at his other side.

"Don't cry, princess." Talon said as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. "It'll be alright. You'll see."

"How can I care for my kingdom when my own heart is suffering?" Star asked. Talon and Blaze exchanged looks.

**Forever love**

**I won't give up **

**No matter what**

**I'll be waiting for you**

**Forever love**

**I'll be waiting for you**

**Forever love**

"Good bye, my love." Star whispered.

**Forever love**

**Notes:** That's it. The last chapter. **Don't worry there **_**will**_** be a sequel to this story, if you want one, SO LET ME KNOW.** Star still has to deal with the missing crystal bell. But I've only got the beginning, ending and about two events planned for that story so I'm going to take a break from Naruto for little bit so I can catch up on another fanfic I'm working on. Once I get a couple chapters caught up on that one and more ideas of what I want to do with the sequel I'll start it. If you'd like, you could send me suggestions of what you would like to see happen in the next story and I might use them. :D


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